Amazon’s first group of internet satellites was sent into orbit on Monday, marking the official start of a long-delayed project to compete with SpaceX’s Starlinks.
The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida, carrying 27 Amazon Project Kuiper satellites.
The satellites were sent about 280 miles above Earth, Amazon said.
Project Kuiper is expected to include more than 3,200 advanced low Earth orbit satellites that will deliver “high-speed, low-latency internet to virtually any location on the planet,” the e-commerce giant said.
Amazon said it has more than 80 rocket launches planned with United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin to deploy the rest of the constellation. Blue Origin and Amazon are both owned by Jeff Bezos.
