Amazon Launches First Test Satellites for Kuiper Internet Network

Amazon Launches First Test Satellites for Kuiper Internet Network
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon's two prototype relay stations for a space-based internet service it calls Project Kuiper, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Oct. 6, 2023. Joe Skipper/Reuters
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WASHINGTON—Amazon’s first pair of prototype satellites for its planned Kuiper internet network were launched into space on Friday from Florida, the company’s first step before it deploys thousands more into orbit to beam internet service globally and compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket emblazoned with the Amazon logo lifted off from Cape Canaveral shortly after 2 p.m. ET, carrying the two Kuiper test satellites, a long-awaited mission Amazon initially had intended to launch using different rockets.