Bezos’ Blue Origin announces satellite rival to Musk’s Starlink
Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, says it will launch more than 5,400 satellites to create a new communications network.
This service, called TeraWave, will offer continuous internet access around the world with the ability to move large amounts of data much faster than competing services.
But even after launching thousands of satellites, Blue Origin will still have far fewer satellites in orbit than Elon Musk’s Starlink, which currently dominates the satellite internet market.
Starlink, part of Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX, also offers internet and phone services to individual customers, while Blue Origin says TeraWave will focus on data centers, businesses and governments.
Blue Origin said its network will allow upload and download speeds of up to 6 terabits per second at its fastest, which would be much faster than rival commercial satellite services currently offered.
Another competitor of TeraWave is Amazon, the technology giant that made Bezos a multi-billionaire. He remains chairman of Amazon’s board of directors after stepping down as CEO in 2021.
Amazon’s satellite initiative is called Leo. Although it currently has only 80 satellites in orbit, the company, which launched dozens more last week, plans to have more than 3,000 satellites in orbit.
Like Starlink, Amazon focuses on the general public rather than businesses and governments and is touting Leo as a way to deliver high-speed internet access around the world. It has not yet been stated when all of the Leo satellites will enter orbit.
Blue Origin said it will begin launching TeraWave satellites by the end of 2027.
In November, the company successfully landed a rocket booster on a floating platform for the first time.
Only SpaceX had previously achieved this feat.
In April, Blue Origin launched an 11-minute spaceflight with an all-female crew that included Bezos’ now-wife Lauren Sánchez, singer Katie Perry and CBS host Gayle King.
However, some commentators said it was “tone deaf” for celebrities to participate in such a short and expensive trip at a time of economic difficulties.
