Jeff Bezos says the aim of the satellite project is to provide 'fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world'. Photo: Handout / United launch Alliance/AFPAmazon is set to launch two satellites on Friday, in its first test mission as part of its plan to deliver the internet from space and compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink service.
"This is Amazon's first time putting satellites into space, and we're going to learn an incredible amount regardless of how the mission unfolds," said Rajeev Badyal, Project Kuiper's vice president of technology.The first operational satellites of the Kuiper project are due to be launched in early 2024, according to Amazon, which hopes for initial tests with customers at the end of next year.
Musk's SpaceX launched the first batch of its more than 3,700 operational Starlink satellites in 2019 and is by far the biggest player. London-headquartered OneWeb is another early entrant in the emerging sector.last month when it was revealed that he refused to turn on the service for a planned attack by Kyiv forces on Russia's Black Sea navy fleet last year.