User:Ktin/sandbox/Kuiper Systems

Kuiper Systems LLC is a subsidiary of Amazon that was setup deploy a large broadband satellite internet constellation to provide broadband internet connectivity. The deployment is also referred to by its project name "Project Kuiper". Amazon announced that it would be investing $10 billion in this project to deploy the satellite internet constellation.

History
Amazon announced in April 2019 that they would fund and deploy a large broadband satellite internet constellation called "Project Kuiper". It is expected to take up to a decade to fully deploy all 3,236 satellites planned for the full constellation in order to provide internet to "tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet." Amazon has not announced if they intend to sell broadband service directly to consumers, but they will "offer broadband service through partnerships with other companies."

In December 2019, information became public that Amazon is asking the FCC to waive requirements (eg. to have applied by 2016) that SpaceX and OneWeb had to follow in order to get their large satellite internet constellations licensed. The FCC has not yet ruled on the request. SpaceX and others have asked the FCC to reject the waiver request.

On July 30th, 2020, Amazon announced that it would be investing more than $10 billion in Project Kuiper, post receiving an authorization from the Federal Communications Commission for a Project Kuiper constellation of 3,236 satellites, to provide broadband internet access across the globe. A condition included in the FCC's authorization was a non-interference clause that required the satellites to not interfere with previously authorized satellite ventures.

Operations
The satellites will use an orbit with a height between 590 and 630 km. Kuiper will work in concert with Amazon's previously announced large network of 12 satellite ground station facilities (the "AWS Ground Station unit") announced in November 2018. Amazon filed communications license documents with the U.S. regulatory authorities the FCC in July 2019, which included information that the wholly owned Amazon subsidiary that intended to deploy the satellite constellation was Kuiper Systems LLC, based in Seattle, Washington. The Kuiper System will consist of 3,236 satellites operating in 98 orbital planes in three orbital shells, one each at 590 km, 610 km, and 630 km orbital altitude. The Kuiper System includes high-performance satellites, terrestrial gateways, internetworking technologies, and a range of customer terminals."

The president of Kuiper Systems is Rajeev Badyal, a former vice president of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet constellation. In 2020, the Kuiper team will move to a larger R&D facility in Redmond, Washington.

Also See

 * Amazon
 * Kuiper belt
 * OneWeb satellite constellation
 * Starlink