Amazon has finalized the identify “Leo” for its satellite tv for pc web service, beforehand identified by the codename “Mission Kuiper,” and ready for enterprise enlargement. This units the stage for a full-scale house battle between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ aerospace firm Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Leo leverages the profitable launch of Blue Origin’s Mars exploration rocket New Glenn.
On Nov. 16 (native time), TechCrunch reported that Amazon lately assigned the official identify Leo to Mission Kuiper. Leo derives its identify from the truth that web satellites stay in Low Earth Orbit. Together with the identify change, Amazon additionally eliminated references to affordable pricing from current enterprise descriptions. That is interpreted as a transfer towards full-scale commercialization.
Leo is a venture Amazon has pursued since 2019. Like SpaceX’s commercially profitable Starlink, the purpose is to allow satellite tv for pc web entry worldwide utilizing solely antennas with out base stations by deploying satellites in low Earth orbit. Amazon has launched roughly 150 experimental satellites into orbit to check and put together for enterprise enlargement. The corporate finally plans to deploy roughly 3,200 satellites to offer ultra-high-speed web protection throughout the globe.
The sluggish progress of Amazon’s satellite tv for pc web enterprise has been attributed to insufficient launch automobile availability. Of the roughly 150 satellites Amazon presently has in orbit, half had been launched utilizing rockets from competitor SpaceX. This was as a consequence of Blue Origin’s incapacity to finish rockets able to deploying industrial satellites into orbit. This contrasts with SpaceX, which commercialized satellite tv for pc launch autos early and has deployed roughly 9,000 Starlink satellites.
The scenario has lately reversed as Blue Origin efficiently accomplished Nationwide Aeronautics and Area Administration (NASA) missions with its New Glenn rocket. New Glenn not solely efficiently positioned two NASA Mars exploration satellites into orbit but additionally demonstrated booster restoration for the primary time. This has created an atmosphere the place Amazon can launch satellites extra affordably and reliably by means of affiliated firm Blue Origin.
SpaceX now faces a formidable competitor not solely in launch autos but additionally in satellite tv for pc web companies. Though Amazon Leo is a late entrant, it provides most web speeds of 1 Gbps (gigabits per second) for big terminals, which is quicker than Starlink’s speeds of lots of of Mbps (megabits per second). The corporate has already secured main shoppers together with Airbus and U.S. low-cost provider JetBlue. Amazon Internet Providers (AWS), the world’s largest cloud supplier, additionally offers a strong terrestrial web infrastructure, which represents a long-term benefit.
