Amazon deploys first space-based internet satellites in bid to rival Starlink

Amazon deployed the first spacecraft in its space-based internet constellation, Project Kuiper, and said it would start providing broadband later this year.

The 27 satellites that took off from Florida marked the first of 80 planned launches: The company hopes to eventually put 3,200 satellites in space to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, which has 7,200 and counting.

Satellite internet is expected to be huge: Amazon has invested close to $20 billion, one analyst told Scientific American, and the ability to provide unblockable, high-speed wireless broadband around the world “can benefit many people on the planet,” despite some concerns over space debris and the satellites’ effect on astronomical observations.