The Project Kuiper internet satellite constellation’s first two satellites will be launched by Amazon early in the following year.
Sending them into orbit will be the team’s duty. Given that SpaceX has expertise in launching the Starlink internet satellite constellation, it is anticipated that the business may need to call for its assistance.
In a webcast, Amazon Senior VP for Devices and Services Dave Limp said, “You’d be foolish not to, given their track record,” in reference to hiring SpaceX to launch the company’s Kuiper satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Limp said to TechCrunch in 2020, “We’re launching agnostic. Call us if you know of someone with a rocket in space.
More than 3,500 have been launched by the Elon Musk-led enterprise so far, and it has already started providing Starlink internet service in a number of nations, including Ukraine.
Amazon, on the other hand, is a long way from the launch pad. The online retailer said that it has opened a second research and development center in the Evergreen State of Washington.
On a number of fronts, Amazon and SpaceX have been competitors. For instance, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, reportedly lost his cool with the Federal Communications Commission last year for allegedly failing to hold the Musk-led corporation responsible for the same set of laws.
Musk has also criticized Bezos in a number of ways. Musk at the time said in a critical tweet that “hamstringing Starlink now for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation does not benefit the public.”
Musk even proposed using “our space lasers” to shoot Bezos. In another, it looked like he was charging Bezos with weakness.
A potential alliance between the firms would thus be rather tricky given the past conflicts and might result in a disagreeable scenario if the two don’t step cautiously.
Source: Wonderfulengineering