Amazon opts for rival SpaceX as launch partner for internet satellite

livemint.com:

Amazon.com Inc. has entered into an agreement with its competitor SpaceX for three launches using Elon Musk's Falcon 9 rocket, this move allows Amazon to secure additional capacity for deploying its internet-from-space satellites into orbit, Bloomberg reported. As disclosed on its website last Friday, Amazon.com Inc.

has finalized a deal that entails the e-commerce and cloud-computing powerhouse depending, in part, on its primary competitor to launch its satellite constellation into orbit. The launches utilizing SpaceX's Falcon 9 are scheduled to commence in the middle of 2025, the report noted. Bloomberg further reported that Starlink, the satellite constellation from SpaceX, is currently operational with around 5,000 satellites providing internet services from low-Earth orbit.

Also Read: Elon Musk's SpaceX will be worth half-a-trillion dollars by 2030: Billionaire investor explains why Meanwhile, Amazon's Project Kuiper, following a comparable business model, has just launched its initial two test satellites out of a planned constellation of 3,236 satellites. The project is targeting beta testing with corporate clients in the latter half of the upcoming year. SpaceX didn’t immediately return an emailed request for comment to Bloomberg.

But in a post on X, the social-media company formerly known as Twitter, Musk wrote, “SpaceX launches competitor satellite systems without favor to its own satellites. Fair and square." Initially, Amazon aimed to launch its first satellites by the fourth quarter of 2022. However, setbacks, including testing failures and other issues with its launch partners, have caused delays in the scheduled flights.