https://arstechnica.com/science/2022...constellation/
Jeff Bezos and Amazon just hired everybody but SpaceX for Project Kuiper
Amazon on Tuesday announced the largest commercial launch deal ever. The company said it has finalized agreements with three different rocket companies for a total of 83 launches. The rockets will deploy a majority of Amazon's low-Earth-orbit constellation of broadband satellites.
With this deal, Amazon has acquired an extraordinary amount of medium- and heavy-lift launch capacity over the next five years, procuring launches from every major Western provider except for its direct satellite competitor, SpaceX. Aside from SpaceX, this purchase represents the vast majority of any "spare" launch capacity for larger rockets in the United States or Europe over the next half-decade.
Amazon announced launch agreements with the following companies as it seeks to build out its constellation of 3,236 satellites:
- Arianespace: 18 launches of Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket
- Blue Origin: 12 launches of the company's New Glenn rocket, with options for 15 additional launches
- United Launch Alliance: 38 launches of the company's Vulcan rocket
Additionally, Amazon previously announced that it has purchased the final nine Atlas V rocket launches from United Launch Alliance before that vehicle, which is powered by Russian engines, is retired.….