Jeff Bezos and his Project Kuiper team will launch the first test satellites later in 2022, ahead of his planned 3,236 low Earth orbiting broadband constellation. Project Kuiper will use rocket company ABL Systems to launch the two satellites (named KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2) and not Bezos’s own Blue Origin rockets. The launches will take place […]
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket company is putting cash into a project to build a commercial space station. Other partners in the project include Sierra Space and Boeing. In essence, the project has in mind an orbiting ‘business park’ for all manner of commercial concepts including space tourism. The project’s build plan talks about having […]
Tesla has helped entrepreneur Elon Musk become one of the two richest men on the planet, and frequently holding the top spot over Amazon’s Jeff Bezos depending on stock market valuations. A report from analysts at Morgan Stanley suggests that when SpaceX truly gets into gear with its Starlink broadband service as well as greater […]
September 8th saw Amazon fire off another salvo to the FCC with a list of complaints about SpaceX and also citing a WSJ comment that Elon Musk wages a “war on regulators” and that Musk allegedly breaks the rules and endangers people. The Amazon letter to the FCC (and from its subsidiary Kuiper Systems) is […]
Jeff Bezos is just a few days away from his Blue Origin/New Shephard sub-orbital launch, scheduled for July 20th. But back at its Redmond (Washington state) headquarters, his Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite team are readying its next steps. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to launch 3236 satellites into low Earth orbit. […]
To describe Sir Richard Branson as a successful entrepreneur is perhaps an understatement, but the world knows that billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tops that category. However, when it comes to sub-orbital space flight, the pair are almost neck and neck in their ambitions. On July 11th, while insisting there’s absolutely no rivalry with Bezos, […]
Last week the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a licence extension to Sir Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic. It means that the aircraft and rocket combination can now fly commercial passengers into near-space. This is the first FAA permission needed for Virgin Galactic to carry passengers. Branson has repeatedly promised to be aboard the first […]
OneWeb has formally applied for a licence to operate over India. The problem is that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, ViaSat and others are seeking or will be seeking the same permissions. India could auction off the broadband satellite frequencies. India’s Financial Express, while confirming the OneWeb move (and OneWeb is part-owned by India’s Bharti Enterprises), […]
The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket system is due to make its first flight carrying humans on July 20th. Bezos and his brother Mark will be on the flight along with the winner of the recent auction for a seat on the New Shepard version of the rocket. “Ever since I was five years old, […]
The risk of satellites bumping into each other is already very real. Now China is joining the low Earth orbit ‘space race’ and planning to launch around 20,000 new craft into orbit. Add this 20,000 to the near-40,000 planned by Elon Musk, another 3300 from Jeff Bezos, around 800 from the UK-backed OneWeb plus dozens […]