Amazon’s effort to challenge Starlink’s hegemony has begun in earnest with the launch of its first 27 operational satellites for Project Kuiper. Carried into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, this was Amazon’s inaugural step towards its planned constellation of 3,236 satellites – deemed sufficient to meet its goal of providing reliable high-speed internet connections to remote and underserved areas. This is part of the country’s official campaign to provide such capacity, with Amazon required under FCC rules to have launched half of the network, over 1,600 satellites, by mid-2026. The 27 satellites deployed last week are part of Amazon’s Kuiper 1 mission, following two prototypes…