Amazon Is In Competition With Starlink: Launches $120 Million Satellite Factory

On Saturday, Jeff Bazos announced its plans to establish state of the art satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy space center in Florida. Jeff Bezos unveiled his plans to launch thousands of satellites from the Space Coast to compete with Elon Musk and SpaceX Starlink’s service. He announced investing $120 million to make those satellites to establish a considerable setup.

According to the company, they have agreed to expand its market in Florida with its project Kuiper, a future name of its satellite network. The network will have 100,000 square foot processing facility with a nearly 80-acre site at Kennedy Space Center. It will be a vast network of 3,200 low-Earth orbiting satellites. The considerable investment will provide broadband internet coverage on a global scale.

The new setup will provide employment opportunities as the space economic development promises to provide 50 jobs to highly skilled individuals with an average salary of $80,000, including 300 jobs during construction.
It will be a first project of its kind and marks the first major commercial foray, which Space Florida manages under a 30-year agreement property with NASA.

Lt Gov Jeanette Nunez, chair for Space Florida’s board of directors, states, “This partnership not only fuels Florida’s reputation as the gateway to space but also accelerates Space Florida’s mission to transform the Launch and Landing Facility into the premier location for aerospace innovation.”

The Amazon creation could be higher as it won’t facilitate satellites there. Instead, of will bring them in for complete adjustments before introducing them to the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Steve Metayer, vice president of Kuiper production operation, expressed his views as he is confident in their ability to launch their first mass-produced satellites as soon as possible by 2024. In addition, he also states, “We have an ambitious plan to begin Project Kuiper’s full-scale production launches and early customer pilots next year, and this new facility will play a critical role in helping us deliver on that timeline.”

Last year, Amazon planned to send up most of what the company planned to be a constellation of 3,326 broadband satellites across with nearly 92 launches over five years. The services they facilitated include United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, Bezos, and Blue Origin, which is establishing its new Glenn Rocket just down the road.

The Elon Musk-led SpaceX Starlink is anticipated to face stiff competition from the Kuiper Broadband services, which will also strengthen Amazon’s already dominant web services platform.

To implement this vision, Florida Facility has decided to employ a workforce of 50 highly skilled individuals. The network will serve as the final destination for the Amazon Kuiper satellite.

Florida’s most precious ten-story talk room will play a crucial role in the satellite deployment process. This space will enable satellites to be seamlessly integrated of the satellite into rocket payload fairings. The shield around the orbit protects the satellites on top of the rocket.

Amazon started the structure in January and unveiled its plan to complete it by 2024. The company has set its goals and targets to send the first batch of satellites in the first half of 2025.

Moreover, the company wants to complete the target and deploy half of the satellite network into orbit by 2026. To achieve the target and ambitious goals, Amazon has taken a staggering 77 heavy-lift rocket launch contracts, which costs millions and billions of dollars.

According to Amazon’s plans, such prototype satellites will be launched into orbit by the end of the year. The company has also planned to initiate service testing with government and corporate customers by the end of this year. With tremendous planning and effort, Amazon is expected soon to become a significant player in the space-based internet industry.

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