| Title | FCC Approves Amazon’s Internet-from-Space Kuiper Constellation of 3,236 Satellites | |
| Date | Sunday August 02 2020, @09:36AM | |
| Author | martyb | |
| Topic | ||
| from the more-space-junk dept. | ||
FCC Approves Amazon's Internet-from-Space Kuiper Constellation of 3,236 Satellites:
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Amazon's plans for its ambitious Kuiper constellation, which entails sending 3,236 satellites into orbit to beam internet coverage down to Earth. The decision is a crucial regulatory step that paves the way for Amazon to start launching the satellites when they're ready.
The company plans to send the satellites to three different altitudes, and it claims it needs just 578 satellites in orbit to begin service, according to an FCC document announcing the approval. Amazon said it will invest "more than $10 billion" in Project Kuiper in a blog post.
Amazon has not announced which launch provider it plans to use to fly the satellites into orbit yet. While Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also owns the rocket company Blue Origin, the launch provider will have to compete to launch the satellites along with other companies.
Ars Technica adds some details in its story Amazon investing $10 billion to compete against SpaceX in satellite broadband:
The FCC approval said Amazon's plan would "provid[e] continuous coverage to customers within approximately 56°N and 56°S latitude, thereby serving the contiguous United States, Hawaii, US territories, and other world regions." The plan calls for using frequencies of 17.7-18.6 GHz and 18.8-20.2 GHz for space-to-Earth communications, and 27.5-30.0 GHz for Earth-to-space transmissions. The FCC said it granted the license because it "would advance the public interest by authorizing a system designed to increase the availability of high-speed broadband service to consumers, government, and businesses."
Amazon filed the FCC application in July 2019—more details on Amazon's plan are available in our story on the application.
The FCC approval includes requirements for minimizing orbital debris and collision risk, prevention of harmful interference, spectrum sharing, and power limits. Amazon's design of the Kuiper satellites is not complete, so the company will need another FCC approval after it submits a final plan for orbital-debris mitigation, collision risk, and "re-entry casualty risk." The FCC approval is also conditioned on Amazon getting a "favorable" rating from the International Telecommunication Union to show compliance with power limits.
Also at cnet.
We previously reported SpaceX was 'Fixing' Brightness from Satellites. There is no mention of astronomical impact requirements for Kuiper satellites.
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printed from SoylentNews, FCC Approves Amazon’s Internet-from-Space Kuiper Constellation of 3,236 Satellites on 2024-04-19 14:14:16