亚马逊已成功制造出第1000颗宽带卫星。最初的27颗卫星耗时6个月才制造完成，如今的生产速度已提升至每周27颗。
Amazon has built its 1,000th broadband satellite and says service is weeks away, having cut production from 27 satellites in six months to 27 a week, while the number in orbit is still 396.
负责该项目的拉吉夫·巴迪亚尔曾在早期领导过星链项目，后因行事过于谨慎而在8年前被马斯克解雇。他向Ars Technica透露，亚马逊距离利用“火神”火箭发射卫星仅剩几周时间，随后还将借助阿丽亚娜航天公司的火箭进行发射，今年内至少还会再发射一次“火神”火箭。
That shortfall cost it spectrum priority in July, and the FCC will hand it back early if Amazon proves it has the hardware built and the launches booked. Amazon has built its 1,000th broadband satellite. It took six months to make the first 27. It now makes 27 a week. Rajeev Badyal, who runs the programme, led Starlink in its early years until Musk fired him eight years ago for moving too cautiously.
2022年12月，亚马逊租下了华盛顿州柯克兰市一座面积达17万平方英尺的空置厂房，仅用15个月便将其改造成卫星制造工厂。该公司自行研发推进系统，还借鉴消费电子行业的做法重新设计了沿用数十年的太空测试流程，将原本需要数周才能完成的检测工作缩短至数小时。如今，亚马逊已跃居全球第二大卫星制造商，仅次于SpaceX。不过，目前仍在轨运行的卫星数量并未发生变化。
He told Ars Technica that Amazon is weeks from launching on Vulcan, with an Arianespace flight to follow and at least one more Vulcan this year. Amazon took an empty 170,000 square foot building in Kirkland, Washington in December 2022 and turned it into a satellite plant in 15 months. It builds its propulsion system in-house, and rewrote decades-old space testing using methods from consumer electronics, cutting checks that took weeks down to hours.
今年7月我们曾报道称在轨卫星数量为396颗，亚马逊目前给出的数据也仍是396颗。要实现第一代网络覆盖，亚马逊共需发射3,232颗卫星。目前“火神”火箭因喷嘴故障暂时停飞，蓝色起源公司的“新格伦”火箭也于5月在发射台上发生爆炸；尽管亚马逊已与四家发射服务商签订了约100次发射合同，这一缺口仍对项目推进造成阻碍。这一差距已让亚马逊付出了代价。
It is now the second-largest satellite manufacturer in the world, behind SpaceX. The number in orbit has not moved. We reported 396 satellites in July, and 396 is what Amazon gives now. The first generation needs 3,232. Vulcan has been grounded on a nozzle fault and a Blue Origin New Glenn exploded on its pad in May, despite about 100 launches booked across four providers. That gap has already cost Amazon something.
按照规定，亚马逊需在7月30日前将1,616颗卫星送入轨道，但今年1月该公司以发射载具短缺为由申请延期两年。监管机构虽批准了延期请求，却取消了7月30日后发射的所有卫星在Ka波段与Ku波段的频谱优先权——这意味着这些卫星必须避免对星链网络造成干扰。
不过，只要亚马逊能证明已具备相应的硬件制造能力且发射计划已落实，其频谱优先权仍可提前恢复。
It was required to have 1,616 satellites up by 30 July, and asked in January for a two-year extension, citing a shortage of launch vehicles. The regulator waived the deadline but stripped spectrum priority in the Ka and Ku bands from everything launched after it, meaning those satellites must avoid interfering with Starlink. Priority can be restored early.
美国联邦通信委员会表示，若亚马逊能证明已制造出所需硬件并获得发射许可，该计划将于2027年10月起重新实施。目前已有1000颗卫星制造完成，两枚“火神”火箭也已竖立待发，这些便是亚马逊向外界展示的实证。第二代卫星系统的相关申请与设计工作也早已启动。欧洲地区也已被列入发射计划之中。
The FCC said it would return from October 2027 if Amazon proves it has built the necessary hardware and secured the launch manifests. A thousand finished satellites and two Vulcans standing vertical is that argument, made in public. A second generation is already filed and in design. Europe is already in the manifest.
“阿丽亚娜6号”正是亚马逊签约使用的运载火箭之一。自4月起，沃达丰与沃达科姆便作为测试客户，在欧洲及非洲地区试用相关服务。欧盟方面也在自行预留无线电频谱资源。
Ariane 6 is among the rockets Amazon has contracted, and Vodafone and Vodacom have been beta customers across Europe and Africa since April. Brussels is reserving airwaves of its own.
欧盟委员会计划将2 GHz移动卫星频段中三分之二的频谱划定为仅供欧洲运营商使用的专用频段。今年8月签署的IRIS2项目预计要到2030年才会迎来首批客户。
The Commission plans to ringfence two-thirds of the 2 GHz mobile-satellite band for European operators. IRIS2, signed in August, does not carry a customer until 2030.