Amazon’s launch of the primary satellite tv for pc was successful, in response to the British Every day Mail United Launch Alliance. The aerospace producer’s Atlas V rocket took the primary two Kuiper Undertaking satellites into low Earth orbit on Friday. The mission, named Protoflight, lifted off at 2:06 p.m. ET from House Drive Station Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Amazon has been engaged on Undertaking Kuiper, an Web satellite tv for pc initiative much like Starlink, for a very long time. It had beforehand deliberate to launch prototypes by the top of final yr.

The corporate sees Protoflight as Key learning opportunity, This offers it the chance to document real-world (or, extra exactly, out-of-world) knowledge from area and add it to the outcomes of laboratory and area assessments. Amazon expects to realize extra information about how the community performs throughout Earth and area. That is additionally a check of satellite tv for pc dealing with, launch and mission operations. As soon as the mission is over, Amazon will deorbit each satellites earlier than they dissipate within the ambiance.

“Now we have carried out intensive testing right here in our laboratory and have a excessive diploma of confidence in our satellite tv for pc design, however there isn’t a substitute for in-orbit testing,” mentioned Rajeev Badial, vp of know-how for the Kuiper Undertaking. “That is the primary time Amazon has despatched satellites into area, and we are going to study an unbelievable quantity of knowledge no matter how the mission goes.”

Amazon says the aim of Undertaking Kuiper is to supply quick, inexpensive broadband to underserved and deprived communities around the globe. It plans to deploy greater than 3,200 satellites over the subsequent six years after receiving FCC approval, and the KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 prototypes are the primary iterations. It expects to launch manufacturing satellites within the first half of 2024 and start pilot assessments with some prospects by the top of subsequent yr.

In case you missed the launch, you may watch the dwell replay under. The rocket lifts off round 26:05 within the video.