Electronics Weekly
A constellation of over 3,200 LEO satellites is planned to planned to provide global broadband services.
The location at the Kennedy Space Center will be used to prepare and integrate Kuiper satellites with rockets from Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) ahead of launches. The manufacturing of the satellites will take place elsewhere, in Kirkland, Washington.
The new facility will be used to receive those satellite shipments from Washington, conduct final preparations ahead of launches, connect satellites to custom dispensers from Beyond Gravity, and integrate the loaded dispensers with launch vehicles.
The 100,000-square-foot centre features a 100-foot tall high bay clean room for the payload fairing of new heavy-lift rockets like Blue Origin’s New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan Centaur.
Florida
The company highlights the facility stems from an expected partnership with Space Florida’s Spaceport Improvement Program, an investment matching initiative that aims to boost critical spaceport infrastructure in the state. It’s one of several Amazon investments Florida, it says.
Amazon said it is investing $120 million in construction and equipment, creating up to 50 new jobs on the Space Coast.
Amazon has secured 77 heavy-lift launch vehicles to deploy its satellite constellation, most of which will be provided by U.S. launch providers Blue Origin and ULA, with launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
“We have an ambitious plan to begin Project Kuiper’s full-scale production launches and early customer pilots next year, and this new facility will play a critical role in helping us deliver on that timeline,” said Steve Metayer, vp of Kuiper Production Operations.
“Adding Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite payload processing facility to the region’s growing industrial capability in commercial space is a testament to the power of building a statewide ecosystem that supports companies across the entire aerospace supply chain,” added Brian Huseman, vp of public policy and community engagement at Amazon.
Project Kuiper
The company expects to begin mass-producing satellites by the end of 2023, with Project Kuiper launching the first production satellites in the first half of 2024. Customer access to the service will begin later in the year.
Amazon recently announced the design, size, and performance details of our three customer terminals—the antennas Project Kuiper customers will use to receive the service (pictured below).
Pictured, top, are Project Kuiper and Amazon executives, along with Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette M. Nuñez, Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello.
The U.S. FTC (Federal Communications Commission) first gave Amazon approval for its satellite constellation in July 2020.
See also: Amazon gets FCC approval for Kuiper satellite constellation
