Amazon Acquires Major Satellite Operator as It Ramps Up Fight to Beat Elon Musk's Starlink

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Gizmodo may earn an affiliate commission. Amazon is acquiring satellite operator Globalstar, the tech giant announced on Tuesday morning. The acquisition is the latest signal that Amazon is determined to become a major competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink. Amazon began working on its satellite internet constellation Leo, née Project Kuiper, in 2019 in response to SpaceX’s Starlink, the world’s leading and fastest-growing satellite constellation. SpaceX has roughly 10,000 satellites in orbit, and the company launched its 1000th Starlink satellite this year alone, on early Tuesday morning. Starlink has over 10 million active customers across 160 markets around the country, the company said in February, and the technology is available to a range of customers, from major airlines like Lufthansa, which use it for in-flight wifi, to civilians caught in war zones. Meanwhile, with only a little over 200 satellites in orbit and no commercial offerings yet, Amazon Leo has had a hard time catching up to SpaceX. Nevertheless, Amazon is willing to put up a fight, and t