Amazon has announced agreements with French aerospace company Arianespace, Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance and founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to provide heavy-lift launch services for its Project Kuiper broadband project.
Up to 83 launches will be conducted over a five-year period to deploy c.3,200 satellites in low earth orbit to increase broadband access globally.
Amazon aims to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband to "tens of millions" of households, schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, disaster relief agencies mobile operators and other organisations working in places without reliable internet.
"Project Kuiper will provide fast, affordable broadband to tens of millions of customers in unserved and underserved communities around the world,” said Dave Limp, senior vice president for Amazon Devices & Services.
“We still have lots of work ahead, but the team has continued to hit milestone after milestone across every aspect of our satellite system. These launch agreements reflect our incredible commitment and belief in Project Kuiper, and we’re proud to be working with such an impressive lineup of partners to deliver on our mission.”
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Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology for Project Kuiper, said securing launch capacity from multiple providers has been a key part of Amazon's strategy to reduce risk and save on costs.
"These large, heavy-lift rockets also mean we can deploy more of our constellation with fewer launches, helping simplify our launch and deployment schedule. We’re excited to move one step closer to connecting residential, business, and government customers around the world," he added.
The online retail and internet hosting giant said it will combine its LEO satellites with customer terminals and a ground-based communications network while leveraging its logistics operations and Amazon Web Services networking and infrastructure to achieve Project Kuiper's aims.
Amazon will launch 18 of Arianespace's Ariane 6 rockets, 12 of Blue Origin's New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicles, with an option for up to 15 additional launches, and 38 of ULA's Vulcan Centaur heavy-lift launch vehicles as part of the initial deal. The Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch for the first time by the end of this year.
Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said the contract with Amazon was the largest the company had ever signed and that it was "a major win for the European launch industry" as well as "a matter of tremendous pride for us and a great vote of confidence in our new launch vehicle.”
Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of New Glenn for Blue Origin, said the company was honoured to support Amazon's mission, while Tony Bruno, ULA president and CEO, said its agreement "marks the beginning of an exciting new era for ULA and for the entire U.S. launch industry.
"It will support hundreds of jobs, especially in places like Alabama, Colorado and Florida, and Amazon’s investments in launch infrastructure and capability upgrades will benefit both commercial and government customers."
Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York on Friday won an election victory to officially form the Amazon Labor Union, the first independent union of Amazon workers in the US.
