Amazon has launched its first pair of satellites for its global orbital internet service, in a direct challenge to Elon Musk's Starlink.
The two satellites for the company's Project Kuiper were carried by an Atlas V rocket, operated by Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance, from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Friday.
Amazon made its first contact with the satellites about an hour later, the Seattle-based company said.
“We’ve done extensive testing here in our lab and have a high degree of confidence in our satellite design, but there’s no substitute for on-orbit testing,” Rajeev Badyal, Project Kuiper’s vice president of technology, said on Amazon's website.
Amazon said its first production satellites are on track for launch in the first half of 2024, with beta testing with early commercial customers expected by the end of next year, the company said.
“This is Amazon’s first time putting satellites into space, and we’re going to learn an incredible amount regardless of how the mission unfolds.”
Project Kuiper is an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO), with a mission is to bring “fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world”, according to Amazon.
That is compared to Starlink's 5,222 deployed satellites, of which 4,265 are operational, according to latest data from astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who tracks the Starlink constellation on his website.
These include Starshield satellites, a derivative of Starlink designed for military or government purposes.
LEOs orbit at heights of between 200km and 2,000km. For perspective, the International Space Station is at 408km, while the Hubble Space Telescope is at 547km.
Amazon's plan is to deploy Project Kuiper to “many countries” around the world, which would serve “billions of people … [who] don’t have reliable access to broadband”.
“Poor connectivity means limited access to modern communications, education, health services and other important resources, which can create an economic disadvantage for unserved and underserved communities,” Amazon said on its website.
The project is targeting a wide base of users, including schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies and others operating “in places without reliable connectivity”, it said.
Amazon will be offering three tiers of speeds to customers – an ultra-compact model with speeds of up to 100Mbps, a standard option with up to 400 Mbps and the largest model, intended for enterprise, government and telecoms applications, with up to 1Gbps.
“We’re designing the system to balance performance and affordability, and we plan to provide choice and flexibility by offering a range of options for customers,” Amazon said.
Starlink, meanwhile, has four plans on offer, and says users can expect to experience download speeds of up to 220Mbps, according to its website. The company, which is a unit of SpaceX, intends to reach speeds of up to 1Gbps.
Starlink began launching satellites in 2019. Earlier that year, Project Kuiper was announced, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saying the company plans to spend billions on it.
Satellites can also provide internet access even in the most remote areas, compared to using a 5G or broadband connection, which requires a user to be within range of a cell tower.
Amazon and Starlink are part of the growing satellite internet sector: China is planning to launch 13,000 satellites as part of its GuoWang constellation, while Canada's Telesat and German start-up Rivada are planning to add 300 and 600, respectively.
These are in addition to the 300 to 500 satellites eyed by the US military's Space Development Agency and the 170 from the EU's Iris initiative.
Amazon said it will be testing Project Kuiper's networking hardware and software “to refine how they support the flow of data through the Kuiper System and Amazon Web Services”.
“Gateway antennae positioned around the world will track and communicate with the satellites and also connect the Kuiper System to the internet,” it said.
“As the mission progresses, we will test the network from end to end, sending data back and forth between the internet, our ground gateways, the satellites and our customer terminals.”
Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20BNPL
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
More on Quran memorisation:
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Cheeseburger%20ingredients
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Company%20Profile
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.5-litre%20V12%20and%20three%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C015hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C500Nm%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Early%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh2%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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Indika
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort: