Local time on October 6, the United States e-commerce giant Amazon's satellite Internet project "Kuiper (Kuiper) project" first pair of prototype satellites launched in Florida, which is the company put thousands of satellites into orbit, to the global delivery of Internet services and compete with SpaceX's "Starlink (Starlink)" before taking the first step.。

At about 2 p.m. EDT, an Amazon-emblazoned "Atlas 5" rocket from the United Launch Alliance lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base.。It is reported that the rocket carried two Kuiper test satellites, and Amazon originally intended to use two different rockets to launch。

The e-commerce and web services giant hopes to deploy another 3,236 satellites over the next six years, according to people familiar with the plan, which aims to provide "fast" and "economical" Internet access services worldwide.。Elon Musk's SpaceX is trying to put about 5,000 Starlink satellites into orbit.。

Days before the launch, Amazon revealed that the pair were built at a satellite factory in Redmond, Washington.。

The live broadcast of the satellite launch, hosted by the United Launch Alliance, ended shortly after the rocket lifted off and did not show the satellite's deployment.。Amazon later said two satellites had been deployed and its mission operations center had made contact with the satellites.。

Back in 2019, Amazon promised to invest $10 billion in its "Kuiper Plan."。That same year, SpaceX began deploying its first operational Starlink spacecraft.。The Federal Communications Commission has asked Amazon to deploy half of its planned satellites by 2026.。

Industry insiders point out that the market for low-Earth orbit broadband Internet services is expected to be worth tens of billions of dollars over the next decade.。

After SpaceX became the world's largest satellite operator with Starlink, Amazon's other competitors include Telesat, a Canadian company that has yet to launch satellites, and OneWeb, a unit of Eutelsat, a French satellite company that provides Internet services to governments and businesses.。

According to the report, the target users of Amazon's satellite network are similar to SpaceX, and they hope to target individual consumers and corporate customers through the "Kuiper Project" to build user terminals at a cost of $400 each (the final price has not yet been announced).。It is reported that SpaceX's "Star Chain" terminal is priced at $599 per unit.。

To deploy the remainder of the Kuiper program, Amazon agreed last year with Blue Origin, the American Astronautical Alliance (ULA) and European Arianespace to launch 83 rockets over five years, the largest commercial rocket purchase ever.。

However, Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos are facing a shareholder lawsuit that says the company failed to conduct an adequate investigation and failed to take into account that its rival SpaceX was able to offer cheaper rockets.。SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket is at the heart of Starlink's rapid deployment。