Amazon is preparing to wrap up the prototype mission of Project Kuiper. Project Kuiper is actively deorbiting its two prototype satellites ahead of a full-scale deployment of its production satellite system. Amazon is committed to building a sustainable business for its customers, communities, and the world, and that focus extends to Project Kuiper, its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network.
When Amazon began the Protoflight mission last October with the launch of two prototype satellites—KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2—a series of tests were laid out to validate the technology and mission procedures. Within 30 days of launch, the company achieved a 100% success rate across key mission objectives, with every major system and subsystem on board performing nominally or better on orbit. Demonstrating safe, controlled satellite maneuvering was one of the most critical of those early tests, and achieving that milestone allowed Amazon to continue experiments over the past seven months. Learnings from those studies have informed how the satellite constellation and broadband network will be managed as the company prepares to begin offering Project Kuiper connectivity services.
The last milestone in the Protoflight mission is deorbiting KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2. As part of the orbital debris mitigation plan and broader commitment to space safety and sustainability, Amazon plans to actively deorbit all satellites within one year of their mission ending. This final phase in the Protoflight mission will allow the company to collect data on the deorbit process as it gradually lowers satellites from their initial target altitude.
Over the next several months, Amazon will continue using the active propulsion systems onboard KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 to execute a series of controlled maneuvers. Combined with natural drag from the Earth’s atmosphere, those maneuvers will gradually lower the satellites to an altitude of around 217 miles (350 kilometers), at which point atmospheric demise will follow. Throughout this process, Amazon will continue to share the satellites’ movements and ephemeris data with other spaceflight operators and use active collision avoidance as needed to further reduce risk.
Preparing for the Next Phase of Project Kuiper
On the ground, Amazon is continuing to prepare for a full-scale deployment of its satellite network. The company is scaling satellite manufacturing at Kuiper facilities in Kirkland and Redmond, Washington; installing gateway stations and telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) sites in countries around the world; and continuing construction on a dedicated satellite-processing facility at Kennedy Space Center. With more than 2,000 people at Amazon working on Project Kuiper, these ongoing investments ensure the company has the people and infrastructure required to operate and scale the network, and to deliver on its mission to bring high-speed, low-latency broadband to customers and communities around the world.
Click here to learn more about Amazon's Project Kuiper.
