Amazon's response to SpaceX's Starlink, Project Kuiper, passes a "crucial" test

 Amazon's response to SpaceX's Starlink, Project Kuiper, passes a "crucial" test

Amazon's response to SpaceX's Starlink, Project Kuiper, passes a "crucial" test

The last obstacle to be cleared for the launch of Amazon's Project Kuiper, which connects over 3,000 satellites in a mesh network around the planet using optical intersatellite link (OISL) technology, was cleared this year.

Major testing has been done on "Project Kuiper" in order to prepare it for a possible launch in 2024.

"Project Kuiper," Amazon's planned satellite broadband network, passed a critical test recently, clearing the path for a 2024 launch.

Amazon's Project Kuiper aims to provide high-speed internet by launching and linking 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), much to SpaceX's Starlink. In October, the company launched two prototype satellites and started testing the network's operational systems. Validating Optical Inter-Satellite Link (OISL) technology—which transmits data between satellites using infrared lasers—was a crucial test.

Amazon now claims that the prototype has cleared this significant obstacle. The two prototype satellites were able to sustain a steady connection speed of 100 gigabits per second throughout testing.

Maintaining communications between satellites located far from Earth has traditionally been done using OISL. However, prior iterations were limited to connecting a pair of satellites. Apart from confirming the ability of both satellites to sustain a high-speed connection, supplementary information indicates that Amazon's OISL variant can connect its whole constellation of over 3,000 satellites to form a mesh network. ought to be.

High-speed Internet services are now powered by earthbound optical fiber lines, which use light to send data across great distances. However, light traveling via SpaceX Project Kuiper moves thirty percent quicker than light traveling over Earthly cables, according to Amazon. Project Kuiper will be able to transfer data over the network thanks to OISL, which will enable it to effectively route data depending on variables like network traffic and receive data from any location on Earth.

Because they have to maintain a very narrow beam between spacecraft separated by distances of up to 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) and moving at speeds of up to 15,000 mph (25,000 km/h), maintaining OISL communications between satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) has always been challenging. One must continue to retain. However, the business said that these difficulties had been solved by its control and optical systems.

Amazon plans to launch enough satellites by the middle of 2024 to start client pilot programs. When Project Kuiper is completely operational in 2029, Amazon anticipates that most customers would see speeds of up to 400 megabits per second. This is about twice as fast as the typical US internet speed, according to Speedtest. The business claims that some companies could even be able to reach 1,000 megabits per second. It remains to be seen whether the network will really achieve such speeds when the technology is fully operational in both off- and on-world settings.