Amazon revealed new satellite antennas that will connect customers to its future Project Kuiper internet network in space.
Amazon plans to launch the first two prototype satellites later this year aboard United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket.
- Amazon
plans to kick off mass production of the satellites in late 2023. It
plans to launch production versions into space in the first half of 2024.
- Once in orbit, the satellites will beam down internet service to the first commercial customers. The customer ground terminals, revealed today, will communicate with the satellites.
- The
terminals include a "standard" design that can deliver speeds of up to
400 megabits per second (Mbps), along with an ultra-compact terminal and
the largest "pro" model for non-residential customers.
- Each
will cost less than $400 to produce. Amazon said all the terminals will
be powered by its own baseband chip, codenamed “Prometheus."
- Amazon is investing over $10B to grow the Kuiper network to 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit over the next few years.
