Amazon moving Project Kuiper team to new R&D headquarters

WASHINGTON —  Amazon on Dec. 18 mentioned its Venture Kuiper crew will transfer in 2020 to a everlasting analysis and growth headquarters with state-of-the-art services for designing and testing its deliberate megaconstellation of broadband satellites. 

In an organization weblog put up, Amazon mentioned it’s finishing renovation of two leased buildings in Redmond, Washington, that can present Venture Kuiper with 219,000 sq. ft (20,300 sq. meters) for R&D labs, prototype manufacturing services, and workplace and design house. 

“As Amazon’s Venture Kuiper crew continues to make nice strides, the crew has as soon as once more outgrown its present facility,” Amazon mentioned. “With that in thoughts, we’re leasing and renovating a long run dwelling for the Kuiper crew…which is able to turn into Kuiper’s major headquarters for analysis & growth, in addition to its major prototype manufacturing and qualification facility.”

Venture Kuiper is a constellation of three,236 satellites Amazon plans to deploy in low Earth orbit for low-latency, high-speed broadband. Amazon joins SpaceX, OneWeb and Telesat in planning giant constellations of internet-beaming satellites. 

Amazon hasn’t mentioned when it plans to launch its first Kuiper satellites, however might want to launch at the very least one among its satellites by early 2026 with the intention to adjust to the seven-year countdown that began in March when it filed with the Worldwide Telecommunication Union for Ka-band spectrum important for the constellation.

Amazon informed the U.S. Federal Communications Fee in July that it plans to launch Venture Kuiper satellites in 5 waves, with satellites designed to function for seven years.

Jeff Bezos, the founding father of Amazon, additionally owns launch firm Blue Origin, whose New Glenn orbital rocket is slated for a primary launch in 2021. Amazon’s Net Companies enterprise additionally has a floor station enterprise that communicates with satellites as they circle the planet.  

Spectrum regulators on the ITU set new rules for low Earth orbit megaconstellations final month, requiring operators, after that seven-year window, to launch 10% of their constellation in two years, 50% in 5 years and 100% in seven years with the intention to maintain their full spectrum rights. 

Amazon, in its Dec. 18 weblog put up, mentioned  Kuiper has made “vital progress in the direction of our aim to serve tens of tens of millions of people that lack fundamental entry to broadband web.” The corporate continues to broaden its workforce backing the constellation, and has 167 job openings for Kuiper posted on its web site.