Amazon teams up with Elon Musk's SpaceX in rare satellite launch deal
In a surprising move, Amazon is teaming up with Elon Musk's SpaceX to send its next group of internet satellites into space.
The rare partnership comes as part of Amazon's effort to build Project Kuiper—its satellite-based internet system meant to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, weather permitting, 24 new Kuiper satellites will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
According to CNBC, the mission, named KF-01, will be Amazon's first time using a SpaceX rocket. The launch is scheduled for 2:18 am ET, with a backup window the next morning.
Even though SpaceX and Amazon are fierce competitors in the race to deliver internet from space, the collaboration is simple business.
Amazon is paying SpaceX for the launch, just as it has with other companies like United Launch Alliance (ULA), which carried the first 54 Kuiper satellites earlier this year.
Amazon needs to move fast. The company must have at least 1,600 satellites in orbit by July 2026 to meet a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deadline.
So far, Amazon has 54 satellites in space, and this launch will bring the total to 78, Yahoo said. The Kuiper project could eventually include more than 3,200 satellites.
Project Kuiper is one of Amazon's biggest bets. The company has already invested more than $10 billion and may spend over $20 billion more to complete the network.
Analysts at Bank of America estimate Amazon could generate over $7 billion a year in revenue from the service by 2032 if it grabs a big share of the market.
'Amazon is working hard to meet its goals and bring internet access to people who need it,' said the company, pointing to plans to serve rural and underserved communities.
Elon Musk's SpaceX, on the other hand, has a head start. Starlink already has about 8,000 satellites in orbit and nearly 5 million users worldwide.
But that hasn't stopped Amazon from pushing forward. While Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos also owns the rocket company Blue Origin, it's not yet ready to handle most Kuiper launches.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Elon Musk ‘sorry' after Starlink satellite internet suffers global outage
SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet has suffered one of its biggest international outages, knocking tens of thousands of users offline, a rare disruption that prompted an apology from senior executives, including founder Elon Musk. Starlink, which has more than six million users across roughly 140 countries and territories, suffered the disruption on Thursday that lasted for about two hours and 30 minutes, according to Michael Nicolls, Starlink's vice president of Starlink Engineering, in a post on X. The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business that had experts speculating whether the service, known for its resilience and rapid growth, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or even a cyberattack. Users began experiencing the outage at about 3pm on the United States' East Coast (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made. 'The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,' Nicolls explained in his post. 'We apologise for the temporary disruption in our service; we are deeply committed to providing a highly reliable network, and will fully root cause this issue and ensure it does not occur again,' he said. Musk also apologised: 'Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again,' the SpaceX CEO and founder wrote on X, which he also owns. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fibre-optic-based internet. Starlink has focused heavily in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Tesla likely faces ‘few rough quarters' after US cuts for EV support
Agencies Tesla boss Elon Musk said on Wednesday that cuts in support for electric vehicle makers by the U.S. government might lead to a 'few rough quarters' for the company before a wave of revenue from self-driving software and services begins late next year. Shares fell nearly 5% after Musk responded on a quarterly results conference call to questions about new U.S. government policies under President Donald Trump. Musk's electric vehicle maker posted the worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade, along with a profit that missed Wall Street targets. However, its profit margin on making cars was better than many had feared. Musk is pursuing autonomous driving to power privately owned vehicles as well as robotaxis that it plans to put into production next year. In the meantime, it is working on a new, cheaper car, though CFO Vaibhav Taneja said that production would ramp up next quarter, slower than initially expected. It produced some initial units by the end of June. The company did not provide an update on its full-year deliveries forecast, citing the economy and timing of the new car rollout. 'Tesla's disappointing results aren't surprising given the rocky road it's traveled recently,' said eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne. 'A truly affordable model will hit the bullseye in terms of boosting sales if Tesla can effectively position it right without detracting from its higher-priced models.' The second consecutive quarterly revenue drop, with a 12% decline, comes despite the launch of a refreshed version of its best-selling Model Y SUV, which investors had hoped would help revive demand.A 51% dive in sales of automotive regulatory credits, which other automakers who have difficulty complying with government emissions rules buy from Tesla, also hurt revenue and profit. Revenue fell to $22.5 billion for the April-June quarter from $25.50 billion a year earlier, slightly behind analyst targets compiled by LSEG. Adjusted profit per share of 40 cents lagged the Wall Street consensus. The automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits, was 14.96%, above Wall Street estimates, helped in part by lower costs per vehicle. Pricing and margins are important as Tesla wrestles with demand and faces falling government support. Tesla's global deliveries dropped 13.5% in the second quarter, and the U.S. government will later this year cut $7,500 tax credits for EV buyers. 'We probably could have a few rough quarters,' Musk said when asked about the credits. 'I'm not saying we will, but we could – you know, Q4, Q1, maybe Q2, but once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I think I'd be surprised if Tesla's economics are not very compelling.' Tesla had said in April that it would start producing the more affordable model by the end of the first half, and sources had told Reuters that the vehicle, a stripped-down version of its Model Y SUV, would be delayed by at least months. Tesla did not disclose any details of the model, including the number of units it had produced or its pricing, on Wednesday. Musk responded to a question of what the vehicle would look like by saying, 'It's just a Model Y,' joking that he 'let the cat out of the bag there.' Tesla's lineup is relatively old, despite a recent refresh of the flagship Model Y, and it faces rising competition from cheaper EVs, especially in China, and a persistent backlash against Musk's far-right political views. The company also said it continued to expect volume production of its custom-built robotaxi – called the Cybercab – and Semi-Truck in 2026. Much of the company's trillion-dollar valuation hangs on its bet on its robotaxi service – a small trial of which was started in Austin, Texas, last month with about a dozen Model Y SUVs – and on its development of humanoid robots. 'Autonomy is the story,' Musk said on the conference call, describing plans to roll out autonomous ride-hailing to about half of the U.S. population by the end of this year.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Some bright spots emerge in corporate earnings despite tariffs
Agencies Some of the world's top tech firms, including U.S. tech giant Alphabet, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix and Indian IT services provider Infosys, have provided upbeat guidance in their latest earnings reports, setting aside uncertainty originating from changing U.S. trade policy. Corporate operations have been overshadowed by erratic U.S. trade action that has upended supply chains and left firms to navigate fluid tariffs on top of broader economic uncertainties such as regulatory change and currency tech titans Alphabet, SK Hynix and Infosys – which all reported earnings that beat market forecasts – predicted brighter days to come, with Alphabet and SK Hynix both flagging plans to boost spending. Nvidia supplier SK Hynix booked a record quarterly profit, boosted by strong demand for artificial intelligence chips and customers stockpiling ahead of potential U.S. tariffs. Indian IT services provider Infosys raised the floor of its annual revenue forecast range to 1% to 3%, from flat to 3%, matching analyst expectations. In Europe, Swiss drugmaker Roche reported a better-than-expected first-half operating profit on Thursday and said it is in close contact with the U.S. government on tariffs. It said it has ramped up inventories in the United States in case tariffs do come into effect to avoid any initial impact. 'We hope that the U.S. government then also sees with all the investments that we and other companies are making, that the companies are intending to produce the medicines that are needed in the U.S. for the U.S. also in locations in the U.S.,' said CEO Thomas Schinecker. Nestle, the world's biggest packaged food company, also on Thursday posted better-than-expected first-half organic sales growth and maintained its 2025 outlook. The upbeat earnings and guidance amounted to a bright spot in a turbulent second-quarter earnings season that has seen businesses as varied as chipmakers and steelmakers report downbeat results. Companies have reported over July 16-22 a combined full-year loss of as much as $7.8 billion, with the automotive, aerospace and pharmaceutical sectors being hurt most by Korea's Hyundai Motor on Thursday posted a 16% decline in second-quarter operating profit as U.S. tariffs on vehicles and parts started to weigh on its bottom line. The automaker said U.S. tariffs cost it 828 billion won ($606.5 million) in the second quarter and that it expects tariffs to have a bigger impact in the current Motors said tariffs knocked $1.1 billion from second-quarter earnings. On Wednesday, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said U.S. government cuts in support for electric vehicle makers could lead to a 'few rough quarters,' as his firm reported its worst quarterly sales decline in over a that the U.S. had struck a deal with Japan to lower new tariffs on auto imports and spare it punishing levies on other goods lifted stock markets on Wednesday. It stirred hope for a similar deal with the European Union ahead of August 1, when the U.S. said new tariffs will go into effect. The European Union is moving toward a trade deal that could include a 15% U.S. baseline tariff on EU goods and possible exemptions, two European diplomats surprise on Thursday was South Korea's finance ministry saying tariff negotiations had been postponed due to a scheduling conflict for U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The announcement cast doubt about whether South Korea would be able to avert U.S. import duties that could hit some of its major exporting industries. All eyes are on Washington as governments scramble to close trade deals ahead of next week's deadline that the White House has already pushed back under pressure from markets and intense lobbying by the Japan deal has eased investor worry, the threat of higher tariffs on other large economies remains, including the European Union, Canada and Brazil. An EU-China summit on Thursday will test European resolve and unity as the bloc faces trade pressure from both China as well as the United States, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets Chinese officials in Sweden next week.
