Ending years of Project Kuiper obscurity, Amazon announced on April 5 the largest commercial launch contract in history at the Space Foundation's Annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Amazon SVP of Devices and Services David Limp shared the company's plans to loft up to 3,236 satellites into orbit via 68 contracted launches on heavy-lift launch vehicles.
Launchers chosen to deploy Amazon's LEO broadband constellation include Ariane 6, New Glenn, and Vulcan Centaur. All three newly minted launch vehicles are slated for their maiden flights in late 2022 or 2023. Quilty Analytics Senior Analyst Caleb Henry moderated a panel featuring launch contract winners Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith, and ULA CEO Tory Bruno.
"Up until now, it was a mystery how Amazon's Project Kuiper would fit into the nascent but rapidly evolving LEO broadband sector," Henry said, following the announcement. "Project Kuiper has now become very real. This news transforms a launch industry suffering from sluggish GEO orders into one that now has to step up its game to keep pace."
In a new nine-page report, Henry and analysts at Quilty Analytics break down what the multibillion-dollar announcement means for the space sector. The industry brief outlines Project Kuiper's challenges while highlighting news that slipped under the radar. Quilty analysts also use industry data to spell out the implications for GEO orders, satellite operators, and the small and heavy-lift launch industry.
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