Within 30 days of sending two prototype satellites into space, Amazon's Project Kuiper has achieved a 100% success rate for its Protoflight mission, validating key technologies that underpin the network and moving the program another step closer toward that long-term vision.
On October 6, 2023, an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance (ULA) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Amazon started Project Kuiper with a goal of providing fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world.
The Protoflight mission has allowed Amazon to test the full range of hardware, software, and infrastructure that underpin our network. This includes the key systems and subsystems that allow our satellites to operate safely and reliably in space as well as the advanced RF communications payload used to send and receive data through the Kuiper network.
With initial testing complete, Project Kuiper is on track to begin mass satellite production ahead of a full-scale deployment starting in the first half of 2024, before entering beta testing with select customers later in the year.
When Amazon begins beta testing in the second half of next year, early partners like Vodafone and Verizon will be among the first to participate in those service pilots. Additional enterprise, telecommunications, and government customers and partners seeking to take part in the pilot program can register interest through early 2024.
Rajeev Badyal, VP, Technology, Project Kuiper
Kuiper was an idea on a piece of paper a few years ago, and everything we’ve learned so far from our Protoflight mission validates our original vision and architecture. We still have a lot of hard work ahead, and scaling for mass production won’t be easy. To get these results on your very first mission though - and so quickly after launch - is an incredible feat, and it’s only possible because of the expertise and dedication of our team here at Amazon.
