Amazon launches first internet satellites in SpaceX Starlink challenge

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.

“We’ve done extensive testing on the ground to prepare for this first mission, but there are some things you can only learn in flight, and this will be the first time we’ve flown our final satellite design and the first time we’ve deployed so many satellites at once," Rajeev Badyal, the vice president of Project Kuiper, said in a release Monday.

The constellation is currently filled by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Starlinks. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlinks since 2019 and celebrated its 250th launch on Sunday night, The Associated Press noted.

Musk’s SpaceX leads the aerospace and rocket industry, hosting nearly 100 launches last year and deploying thousands of its Starlink internet satellites. Blue Origin, founded in 2000 by Bezos, has lagged behind SpaceX when it comes to rocket launches.

The competition heated up last year when Bezos filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration to limit Starship launches, citing environmental concerns.  

Musk at the time called the move an “obviously disingenuous response,” nicknaming the company “Sue Origin” at the time.  

And in 2021, Bezos sued NASA over awarding a lunar lander contract to SpaceX, but ultimately lost the suit.  

Bezos and Musk had various social media spats over the years, though the two exchanged positive and joking comments earlier this year, suggesting they may have reconciled some differences.