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亚马逊“柯伊伯”宽带互联网星座的首批 27 颗卫星于周一从佛罗里达州发射升空，拉开了拖延已久的太空互联网部署的序幕，该网络将与 SpaceX 的 星链竞争。
这些卫星是亚马逊计划为“柯伊伯”计划发射的 3236 颗卫星中的首批，该项目于 2019 年启动，耗资 100 亿美元，旨在为全球消费者、企业和政府提供宽带互联网服务——这些客户正是 SpaceX 多年来凭借其强大的星链业务所争取的。
这批 27 颗卫星搭载波音公司 (BA.N) 和洛克希德·马丁公司 (LMT.N) 的合资公司联合发射联盟 (ULA) 的 Atlas V 火箭，于美国东部时间晚上 7 点从火箭公司位于卡纳维拉尔角太空军站的发射台升空。 4月9日，恶劣天气导致首次发射计划取消。
柯伊伯可以说是亚马逊目前最大的赌注，它将与星链以及 AT&T和 T-Mobile等全球电信运营商展开竞争。该公司将这项服务定位为网络稀疏或完全没有网络连接的农村地区的福音。
部署首批投入运营的卫星的任务已被推迟一年多——亚马逊曾希望在 2024 年初发射首批卫星。美国联邦通信委员会设定的最后期限是 2026 年中期，亚马逊必须部署其一半的卫星，即 1618 颗卫星，但分析师表示，由于起步较慢，亚马逊可能会寻求延期。
发射几小时或几天后，亚马逊预计将从其位于华盛顿州雷德蒙德的任务运营中心公开确认与所有卫星的初步联系。如果一切按计划进行，该公司表示预计将“在今年晚些时候开始向客户提供服务”。
The first 27 satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband internet constellation were launched into space from Florida on Monday, kicking off the long-delayed deployment of an internet-from-space network that will rival SpaceX’s Starlink.
The satellites are the first of 3,236 that Amazon plans to send into low-Earth orbit for Project Kuiper, a $10 billion effort unveiled in 2019 to beam broadband internet globally for consumers, businesses and governments – customers that SpaceX has courted for years with its powerful Starlink business.
Sitting atop an Atlas V rocket from the Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab joint-venture United Launch Alliance, the batch of 27 satellites was lofted into space at 7 p.m. EDT pm from the rocket company’s launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Bad weather scrubbed an initial launch attempt on April 9.
Kuiper is arguably Amazon’s biggest bet under way, pitting it against Starlink as well as global telecommunications providers like AT&T (T.N), opens new tab and T-Mobile (TMUS.O), opens new tab. The company has positioned the service as a boon to rural areas where connectivity is sparse or nonexistent.
The mission to deploy the first operational satellites has been delayed more than a year – Amazon once hoped it could launch the inaugural batch in early 2024. The company faces a deadline set by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to deploy half its constellation, 1,618 satellites, by mid-2026, but its slower start means Amazon is likely to seek an extension, analysts say.
Hours or possibly days after the launch, Amazon is expected to publicly confirm initial contact with all of the satellites from its mission operations center in Redmond, Washington. If all goes as planned, the company said it expects to “begin delivering service to customers later this year.”
