CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Amazon’s first batch of Internet satellites rocketed into orbit Monday, the latest entry in the mega constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX’s thousands of Starlinks.
The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers).
Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites also are coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers.
Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions.
Founded by Jeff Bezos, who now runs his own rocket company, Blue Origin, Amazon aims to put more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast, affordable broadband service around the globe.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX already has launched more than 8,000 Starlinks since 2019. The company marked its 250th Starlink launch Sunday night. More than 7,000 Starlinks are still in orbit some 300-plus miles (550 kilometers) above Earth.
The European-based OneWeb satellite constellation numbers in the hundreds in an even higher orbit.
Amazon already has purchased dozens of rocket launches from United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin for Project Kuiper, as well as others.
“There are some things you can only learn in flight” despite extensive testing on the ground, said Rajeev Badyal, the project’s vice president.
“No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey,” he said in a statement ahead of the evening liftoff.
The first liftoff attempt earlier this month was nixed by bad weather. It took until now to secure another spot in the launch lineup at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Amazon launches its first Internet satellites to compete against SpaceX’s Starlinks
https://arab.news/6c2qg
Amazon launches its first Internet satellites to compete against SpaceX’s Starlinks
- Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations
Indonesia nursing home fire kills 16: official
JAKARTA: A fire at a nursing home on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi killed more than a dozen people, with three others injured, a local official said Monday.
Firefighters received the report of the blaze at 8:31 p.m. Sunday at a nursing home in the North Sulawesi provincial capital Manado, said the city’s fire and rescue agency chief Jimmy Rotinsulu.
“There were 16 deaths; three (people) had burn injuries,” he told AFP.
Many bodies of the victims were found inside their rooms, Jimmy said, adding that many of the elderly residents were likely resting in their rooms in the evening when the fire broke out.
Authorities managed to evacuate 12 people — all unhurt — and transfer them to a local hospital, he said.
Footage aired by local broadcaster Metro TV showed the fire engulfing the nursing home, while locals helped to evacuate an elderly person.
Deadly fires are not uncommon in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
A fire tore through a seven-story office building in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta this month, killing at least 22 people.
In 2023, at least 12 people were killed in the country’s east after an explosion at a nickel-processing plant.
