"After several successful launches this year, Project Kuiper has its official name: Amazon Leo. It's a nod to the term Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), which refers to orbits at an altitude of 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) or less. That's the region where Amazon's constellation of 153 satellites orbit. The original code name referred to the Kuiper Belt, an asteroid belt in the outer solar system past Neptune."
"Amazon plans to launch over 80 missions containing some 3,000 spacecraft. Leo has had six launches so far, including three launches using SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets with a total of 72 satellites on board. Amazon's main rival in this space is SpaceX's Starlink, which recently launched its 10,000th satellite. Amazon is promising Leo will help "extend fast, reliable internet to those beyond the reach of existing networks," much like Starlink has attempted to over the past several years."
Amazon renamed Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo. Leo denotes Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), defined as orbits at about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) altitude or less, where a constellation of 153 Amazon satellites currently orbits. Amazon plans over 80 missions to deploy roughly 3,000 spacecraft; six launches have occurred so far, including three Falcon 9 launches carrying 72 satellites. Amazon positions Leo to extend fast, reliable internet to areas beyond existing networks. The main competitor is SpaceX's Starlink, which recently reached 10,000 satellites. Large-scale deployments risk increased orbital debris, higher collision probability, and hazards to crewed missions.
Read at The Verge
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