The taxpayer-funded space race between billionaire tech moguls Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos has taken a new turn with the launch of Amazon’s first test satellites for its proposed internet service. The satellites were carried into space by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, marking the beginning of an ambitious plan to achieve global internet coverage with a network of 3,236 satellites. Amazon plans to start offering the service by the end of 2024, aiming to rival SpaceX’s broadband network, Starlink.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX holds a significant advantage over Amazon, as it has already launched test and operational satellites since 2018. Meanwhile, Europe’s Eutelsat OneWeb is also launching internet satellites, with around 600 currently in orbit. The rivalry between Musk and Bezos, known as the “Billionaires’ Space Race,” has been heating up, with both trading insults in biographies and competing for contracts with NASA for over two decades.
In May of this year, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin was awarded a $3.4 billion contract with NASA, bringing him a step closer to his goal of sending a man to the moon. However, Elon Musk’s SpaceX secured a $3 billion contract in 2021 for a similar mission. Bezos had attempted to win that contract and even filed a lawsuit to overturn the decision.
Despite the setbacks, Amazon’s launch of test satellites marks another milestone in the race for space supremacy. The company has planned 77 launches with various partners to deploy its proposed satellite network. With the competition intensifying, the battle between Musk and Bezos continues to captivate the world’s attention.
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