Tag: Satellites

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Amazon gears up for beta test of satellite internet service

Worker installing satellite antenna on building roof
A worker installs an Amazon Leo antenna at a Hunt Energy facility. (Amazon Photo)

Amazon Leo — the satellite internet service provider formerly known as Project Kuiper — says it has started shipping its top-of-the-line terminals to select customers for testing.

Today’s announcement serves as further evidence that Amazon is closing in on providing space-based, high-speed access to the internet to customers around the world after years of preparation. Amazon Leo is still far behind SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, but the Seattle-based tech giant has lined up a wide array of partners to help get its network off the ground.

The top tier of Amazon Leo’s global broadband service, known as Leo Ultra, will offer download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second and upload speeds of up to 400 megabits per second, Amazon said today in a blog post. That’s the first time Amazon has shared details about uplink performance.

During an enterprise preview, some of Amazon’s business customers will begin testing the network using production-grade hardware and software. Amazon said the preview will give its Leo teams “an opportunity to collect more customer feedback and tailor solutions for specific industries ahead of a broader rollout.”

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Portal unveils a new breed of maneuverable spacecraft

Illustration: Starburst spacecraft in orbit with Supernova vehicle in background
Artwork shows Portal’s Starburst spacecraft in the foreground with its Supernova vehicle in the background. (Portal Space Systems Illustration)

Bothell, Wash.-based Portal Space Systems has added another spacecraft to its product line: a rapid-maneuverability vehicle called Starburst, which takes advantage of technologies that are being developed for its more powerful Supernova satellite platform.

Starburst-1 is due to star in Portal’s first free-flying space mission with live payloads a year from now, starting with a launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 satellite rideshare mission. Portal says the mission will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations, rapid retasking and rapid orbital change for national security and commercial applications.

Starburst is designed to bring maneuverability to missions that rely on constellations of small satellites, an approach known as proliferated space architecture. Such an approach is already being used for commercial constellations including SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and the concept is also gaining traction for national security applications.

Portal says Starburst and the larger Supernova platform will share many manufacturing processes and core systems, including the thrusters being developed for Supernova’s reaction control system. Like Supernova, Starburst will use heated ammonia as a propellant.

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Jeff Bezos sees orbital data centers as ‘next step’ in space

Jeff Bezos at Italian Tech Week 2025
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, speaks at Italian Tech Week 2025 in Turin. (Italian Tech Week via YouTube)

What’s the next killer app for the final frontier? According to Jeff Bezos, it’s a future fleet of gigawatt data centers, flying in orbit and powered by sunlight.

Bezos — who founded the Amazon retail giant as well as his privately held Blue Origin space venture — pointed to the prospects for orbital data centers on Oct. 3 during a fireside chat at Italian Tech Week 2025 in Turin. He cast the technology as the most cost-efficient way to satisfy the tech industry’s need for more power to fuel advances in artificial intelligence.

But don’t expect cloud computing to leave Earth behind immediately. Bezos estimated that the transition from Earth-based to space-based data processing would take more than 10 years.

“I bet it’s not more than 20 years,” he said. “We’re going to start building these giant gigawatt data centers in space. So, these giant training clusters, those will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7.”

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Hubble Network raises $70M for Bluetooth satellites

Illustration: Hubble Network satellite in Earth orbit
An artist’s conception shows one of Hubble Network’s satellites in orbit. (Hubble Network Illustration)

Seattle-based Hubble Network says it has raised $70 million in additional investment to accelerate the growth of its satellite-powered Bluetooth network.

“Our vision has always been to connect billions of devices seamlessly and cost-effectively, without requiring hardware or infrastructure,” Alex Haro, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said today in a news release. “This round confirms the strong demand for scalable, low-power, global IoT connectivity.”

The Series B funding round builds on $30 million in previously announced investments. This round was led by Ryan Swagar, co-founder of Swagar Capital. Other investors include Tom Gonser, co-founder of DocuSign; Mike Farley, co-founder of Tile; Marc Weiser, managing director and founder of RPM Ventures; Tuff Yen, founder and managing partner of Seraph Group; and Y Combinator.

“Hubble is doing what many thought was impossible, making space accessible for everyday devices,” Swagar said. “Their unique architecture, strong technical execution and proven customer demand position them to define the future of global connectivity.”

In July, Hubble Network unveiled a system that uses satellites and low-power Bluetooth signals to monitor devices and sensors around the globe. The network relies on a technology called Bluetooth Low Energy, also known as BLE, plus proprietary enhancements that make it possible for Bluetooth signals to be picked up by phased-array antennas on Hubble Network’s satellites.

The company has no connection to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Instead, Hubble Network’s name plays off the idea that its network can serve as a hub for BLE transmissions. It currently operates seven satellites but plans to grow that constellation to 60 satellites by 2028.

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Xplore captures a satellite snapshot of North Korea

Hyperspectral image of North Korean coastline
Xplore’s satellite captured this color-coded image in visible and near-infrared wavelengths over North Korea. ©2025 Xplore Inc.

Nine months after the launch of its first satellite, Bellevue, Wash.-based Xplore is sharing a hyperspectral view of North Korean territory as seen from orbit.

The image, captured in visible and near-infrared wavelengths by Xplore’s XCUBE-1 satellite, was unveiled today at the Seattle Space Superiority Summit at the Museum of Flight.

Xplore’s co-founder and chief operating officer, Lisa Rich, said the picture shows “semi-submerged farms that are likely rice paddies,” plus fish farms and salt flats. “This is a big reveal for us today,” Rich said.

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Amazon touts gigabit data speeds in satellite test

Screenshot of internet speed test with 1287.25 Mbps showing on dial
A screenshot shows a data downlink speed in excess of 1.2 gigabits per second. (Panos Panay via X)

Amazon executives are showing off evidence that the company’s Project Kuiper satellite constellation is capable of transmitting data at speeds in excess of a gigabit per second.

The evidence is in the form of a video posted to social-media accounts, displaying an internet speed test that hit a peak downlink transfer rate of over 1.2 Gbps.

Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president for devices and services, said Project Kuiper team members used Amazon’s enterprise-grade customer terminal for the test, and connected as their satellites flew above at their assigned altitude of 630 kilometers (390 miles).

“So pumped to see this, and looking forward to bringing this level of performance to our customers,” Panay wrote on LinkedIn.

Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s vice president of technology for Project Kuiper, weighed in on LinkedIn as well. “The team set a high bar from the start, and as far as we know, this is the first commercially phased array antenna to deliver 1+ Gbps from low Earth orbit,” he wrote.

“P.S.: Uplink numbers generated as much excitement (if not more),” Badyal added. “We’ll save those for another day though…”

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Satellite phone service raises its orbit into the data zone

Photoillustration: Hiker using mobile phone in countryside with magenta-tinged satellites in the sky above
T-Mobile says satellite access will get rid of “dead zones” for mobile phone apps. (T-Mobile Photoillustration)

T-Mobile subscribers who buy one of the phones in Google’s newly announced Pixel 10 lineup will be able to explore a new frontier in mass-market mobile connectivity: satellite access to data-dependent apps, including Google Maps.

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Hubble Network can track your devices from orbit

Illustration: Hubble Network satellite in space
An artist’s conception shows one of Hubble Network’s satellites in orbit. (Hubble Network illustration)

A Seattle space startup called Hubble Network is unveiling a system that uses satellites and low-power Bluetooth signals to monitor devices and sensors around the globe.

The system, known as the Hubble BLE Finding Network, can open the way for applications ranging from locating lost pets to monitoring supply chains and watching out for wildfires, Hubble Network CEO and co-founder Alex Haro said.

“Agriculture, oil and gas, mining, defense … There are all these important verticals and industries where there is need for this very battery- and cost-efficient network that can have global accessibility,” Haro told me.

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SpaceX sets rivalry aside and launches Amazon satellites

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Amazon Project Kuiper satellites
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sends Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites into space. (SpaceX / Amazon via LinkedIn)

In a case of strange space bedfellows, SpaceX launched 24 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation — which is competing with SpaceX’s Starlink network to provide internet access from low Earth orbit.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent the satellites into space from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:30 a.m. ET July 16 (11:30 p.m. PT July 15).

This was the third launch of operational satellites for Project Kuiper, coming after two batches of 27 satellites each were delivered to orbit in April and June. Those earlier missions made use of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rockets, but in order to meet its satellite deployment schedule, Amazon is turning to SpaceX for three Falcon 9 launches.

SpaceX enjoys a significant edge over Amazon when it comes to providing satellite broadband access: Starlink has about 8,000 satellites in orbit and more than 6 million subscribers, while Project Kuiper is just getting off the ground. Project Kuiper’s satellites are built at an Amazon facility in Kirkland, Wash., not far from the SpaceX complex in Redmond where Starlink satellites are manufactured.

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Starfish’s second spacecraft launched for docking test

Illustration: Otter Pup approaching spacecraft in orbit
An artist’s conception shows Otter Pup 2 (at left) approaching its target satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration)

Starfish Space’s second Otter Pup spacecraft went into Earth orbit today, marking the first step in what the Seattle-area startup hopes will be a successful demonstration of the vehicle’s ability to dock with other satellites.

Otter Pup, which is about the size of a microwave oven, was one of 70 payloads that hitched a ride to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-14 rideshare mission. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:25 p.m. PT.

Minutes after stage separation, SpaceX reported that the rocket’s reusable first-stage booster made a successful touchdown on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. Later, SpaceX confirmed that Otter Pup separated successfully from the Falcon 9’s upper stage.

“Launch is an exciting milestone for Otter Pup 2, placing the satellite into low Earth orbit so it can work towards its mission: docking with another satellite and validating core Starfish technologies along the way,” Starfish Space, which is headquartered in Tukwila, Wash., said in a post-launch posting to X / Twitter. “If successful in these goals, Otter Pup 2 will bring us closer to an interactive future in orbit, shifting the paradigm for what humanity can accomplish as we venture out into the universe.”

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