AWS Ground Station unit
- Snippet from Wikipedia: Kuiper Systems
Kuiper Systems LLC, also known as Project Kuiper, is a subsidiary of Amazon that was established in 2019 to deploy a large satellite internet constellation to provide low-latency broadband connectivity. The name Kuiper was a company codename for the project inspired by the Kuiper belt.
The Federal Communications Commission granted Amazon approval to deploy a constellation of 3,236 satellites into low Earth orbit. Deployment is planned in five phases, and internet service will begin once the first 578 satellites are launched. Under its granted FCC license, Amazon is required to launch and operate half of its satellites no later than July 30, 2026, and must launch and operate the remaining satellites no later than July 30, 2029. As of March 2025, only two prototype satellites have been launched.
Amazon has purchased 92 rocket launches with United Launch Alliance, ArianeGroup, and Blue Origin (the latter owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) for a total of over US$10 billion. In 2024, the company bought additional launches from SpaceX, which operates the competing Starlink satellite internet constellation.