Musk's SpaceX Boosts Satellite Fleet In Low-Earth Orbit While Amazon's Prototype Launch Faces Delay

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX launched 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO) from Florida on Sunday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

What Happened: According to astronomer Jonathan McDowell‘s analysis, SpaceX has launched 4,543 Starlink satellites in 88 launches — 4,219 are in orbit.

Though SpaceX was also expected to launch NASA’s CRS-28 mission to the ISS on Sunday, it was postponed to Monday due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Why It Matters: Amazon.Com, Inc‘s AMZN Project Kuiper, which seeks to provide broadband access with a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low-Earth orbit, is facing further delays.

The company aims to launch its first two prototype satellites in mid-2023 and provide service to earlier customers by 2024-end.

However, the first two prototype satellites are to be launched on the maiden flight of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is now eyeing a launch this summer.

Amazon received an FCC license to operate Project Kuiper satellites in 2020. The permit requires the company to deploy and operate at least half of its constellation by July 2026.

Project Kuiper has already secured 77 heavy-lift launches from Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance.

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