Here’s a golden rule Jeff Bezos seems to have forgotten: never let your ego get in the way of doing business
In April 2022, Amazon announced the launch of its Kuiper Systems telecommunications subsidiary, having obtained a license to launch 3,236 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. To put those satellites into space, the company said it had contracted 83 rocket launches with three suppliers — United Launch Alliance, Arianespace and its own company, Blue Origin — leaving out Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the most advanced, cutting-edge and, above all, cost-competitive supplier, a company that has been able to apply economies of scale, revolutionizing the aerospace industry.
Basically, Amazon decided to hire everyone but SpaceX. As I wrote at the time, that was a stupid decision: given the low launch frequency of the competitors it had hired, it jeopardized the goal committed to the FCC of launching at least half of the satellites by 2026.
