Copy link The “Project Kuiper” blast-off on a ULA Atlas V rocket takes the total number of spacecraft in LEO to 54, not including two earlier prototypes launched in 2023. The lift-off significantly comes alongside speculation that the federal government will pick the service to replace NBN’s beleaguered geostationary satellites that provide internet to remote areas of Australia. You’re out of free articles for this month Log in VIEW ALL Amazon believes its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure arm will ultimately give it an advantage over Starlink by enabling it to offer customers advanced data processing and analysis capabilities. Space Connect reported earlier this year how Project Kuiper is speculated to have emerged as the “leading candidate” to succeed the two NBN Sky Muster spacecraft, although a decision still needs to be signed off by federal government ministers. The GEO satellites launched in 2015 and will be decommissioned in 2032. However, customers have long complained that the service isn’t good enough to consistently handle video, and reports suggest thousands of customers have defected to Starlink. Low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, such as Starlink, offer quicker services than traditional geostationary satellites, such as NBN Sky Muster, because they are closer to Earth. The lower height, though, also means LEOs effectively cover a smaller area and, therefore, need to operate in larger, connected constellations to be effective. Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, has the advantage of being able to launch thousands of satellites without paying external customers because it operates its own reusable rockets. It’s currently thought there are more than 7,500 Starlink satellites in orbit, with plans for a constellation of 40,000. There are also plans for more rival services to Starlink and Project Kuiper, with Vocus recently announcing that it would collaborate with Canadian satellite provider Telesat on a separate offering. The plan will see the Melbourne-based telecommunications company build a landing station in NSW and provide fibre connectivity, while Telesat will begin launching satellites in late 2026. Vocus said a new low-Earth orbit (LEO) network was “important for Australia” given recent outages of digital infrastructure globally. “Having multiple LEO satellite providers available will give Australian organisations even better protection from digital infrastructure disasters happening again,” it said. “Different networks and different providers used in combination mean outages in one won’t bring everything down.” This article was originally published on Space Connect, Cyber Daily’s sister brand.