After a series of successful tests, Amazon says it has begun the monthslong process of bringing two prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation down from orbit.
“The last milestone in our Protoflight mission is deorbiting Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2,” Amazon said today in an online update.
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s $10 billion initiative to provide global high-speed internet service from low Earth orbit. The project has lagged behind SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, which already has more than 3 million customers and is partnering with T-Mobile, But Amazon has enlisted its own high-profile set of partners, including Verizon and Vodafone, and Project Kuiper’s pace has picked up over the past year.
The Kuipersat prototypes were launched in October to test the hardware and software systems that will be used for the full 3,232-satellite network. During a series of short-duration tests, they were used to transmit data for a streaming video, an Amazon purchase, a two-way video call and other applications. Amazon also tested a laser communication system for beaming data between satellites.
Project Kuiper’s orbital debris mitigation plan calls for deorbiting each satellite in its network within a year after its mission ends — which is why the controlled descent and safe disposal of the Kuipersats serve as an important final test. “This final phase in the Protoflight mission will allow us to collect data on the deorbit process as we gradually lower satellites from their initial target altitude,” Amazon said.
The Kuipersats were deployed into 311-mile-high (500-kilometer-high) orbits last October. Deorbiting operations began in late April, and the satellites’ current altitude is in the range of 285 to 292 miles (460 to 470 kilometers). Over the next four to six months, the satellites will continue firing their solar electric propulsion systems for a series of orbit-lowering maneuvers. Ground controllers will track the process, share their data with other satellite operators and take active measures if necessary to reduce the risk of collisions.
“Combined with natural drag from the Earth’s atmosphere, those maneuvers will gradually lower satellites to an altitude of around 217 miles (350 kilometers), at which point atmospheric demise will follow,” Amazon said.
Amazon is ramping up operations at a 172,000-square-foot factory in Kirkland, Wash., to build production-grade satellites for the full constellation. The first production satellites are being readied for launch sometime in the next few months, and Amazon says it expects to have enough satellites deployed by the end of 2024 to begin offering demonstrations to early enterprise customers.
Project Kuiper is expected to turn out up to five satellites a day once its facilities in Kirkland and Redmond, Wash., reach full capacity. Under the terms of its license from the Federal Communications Commission, Amazon is required to deploy half of the network’s 3,232 satellites by mid-2026, with the rest to be deployed by 2029.
