Naomi Cooper
Amazon will equip its broadband satellites with laser communications terminals to enable the high-speed transfer of remote-sensing data to the Space Development Agency’s low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, SpaceNews reported Friday.
SDA aims to use some satellites from Amazon’s Project Kuiper as translators between commercial remote-sensing companies and the Department of Defense’s Transport Layer, a mesh network of interconnected LEO satellites.
Derek Tournear, director of SDA and a previous Wash100 Award recipient, said the selected Kuiper satellites will be equipped with SDA-compatible optical terminals to allow on and off data transfer from the Kuiper network onto the Transport Layer.
Project Kuiper is a Federal Communications Commission-authorized constellation of LEO satellites that aims to provide internet connectivity to unserved and underserved communities.
Amazon is set to launch the first two Kuiper prototype satellites aboard United Launch Alliance‘s Vulcan Centaur rocket in 2023.
