Technologies

Amazon’s Project Kuiper Successfully Launches With 27 Satellites

Project Kuiper wants to challenge SpaceX’s Starlink, but Elon Musk’s company is far ahead for now.

Amazon successfully launched 27 low-Earth orbit satellites on Monday night as part of Project Kuiper, which will provide satellite broadband services. The launch mission, KA-01 or Kuiper Atlas 1, utilized a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and began its journey from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Missed the launch? You can watch the replay on the project’s mission page or on YouTube.

The tech and space giant was forced to abandon its original rocket launch date of April 9 after poor weather conditions. «Weather is observed and forecast NO GO for liftoff within the remaining launch window at Cape Canaveral,» United Launch Alliance said at the time. «The stubborn cumulus clouds and persistent winds make liftoff not possible within the available window.»

It’s a big step forward for the project, which Amazon announced in 2019 with promises of a $10 billion investment. Now, the company is entering the race to provide satellite internet service, a space currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink, which has about 7,000 satellites. Amazon’s plans call for 3,200 satellites to be deployed over 80 launches. The company intends to provide internet service with this technology later this year.

More competition could improve satellite internet

The literal space race, which includes Starlink, Amazon and other companies such as Viasat, Hughesnet, Eutelsat and China’s SpaceSail, could mean more internet service availability in far-flung and rural areas with limited broadband options. Though Starlink is the leader in space, some of these other companies are continuing to launch satellites and working to deploy high-speed internet in more markets, such as Brazil. With more players in the market, that could mean faster and cheaper internet in more areas, although whether that actually bears out for consumers remains to be seen.

Mahdi Eslamimehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research and adjunct professor at the Department of Computer Science at USC, said Amazon is well-positioned to compete with Starlink.

«Amazon has made extensive launch agreements with major providers such as ULA, Arianespace, Blue Origin, and even SpaceX itself, positioning Kuiper as a major challenger due to its expansive infrastructure and significant resources.»

He said, «While Starlink currently enjoys clear market leadership, it faces increasing competition from well-capitalized and strategically agile competitors, specifically from China, suggesting the market will become considerably more competitive in the near future.»

So far, Eslamimehr said, Amazon’s satellite efforts have been promising and successful, at least in the prototype stages. The company has also been testing Amazon Web Services in space. «These developments collectively underscore Amazon’s robust entry into the satellite internet market and reflect positive early momentum in its overall space strategy.»

Beyond how it fares against Starlink and other companies, the Amazon satellite launches are significant in other ways. Eslamimehr said, «Project Kuiper isn’t just about competition; it’s positioned as a critical step toward closing the global digital divide, promising to deliver high-speed internet to underserved communities worldwide.»

Correction, April 4: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the USC professor and Quandary Peak Research executive vice president. His name is Mahdi Eslamimehr.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 15, #888

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 15, #888.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle includes some tricky words. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Yum!

Green group hint: Grammar time.

Blue group hint: They win Oscars and Tonys.

Purple group hint: Think DMZ.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Enhance the taste of.

Green group: Punctuation marks.

Blue group: Kinds of actors.

Purple group: ____ zone.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is enhance the taste of. The four answers are flavor, salt, season and spice.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is punctuation marks. The four answers are colon, dash, period and slash.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of actors. The four answers are character, film, method and stage.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ zone. The four answers are buffer, comfort, time and twilight.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 15, #418

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 418 for Saturday, Nov. 15.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. Not really sure what the yellow category has to do with sports, but OK, whatever. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keeps your head warm.

Green group hint: Nothing but net!

Blue group hint: College signal-callers.

Purple group hint: It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Headgear.

Green group: A score in basketball.

Blue group: First names of SEC QBs.

Purple group: Super ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is headgear. The four answers are balaclava, cap, hat and visor.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is a score in basketball. The four answers are basket, bucket, field goal and make.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of SEC QBs. The four answers are Arch, Diego, Trinidad and Ty.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is super ____. The four answers are flex, Sonics, speedway and star.

Technologies

Older Pixel Phones Score a Handy New Feature: Call Recording

Google says the feature is also coming to non-Pixel phones, though the specific models are unclear.

There are some times when you need to record a phone call — whether it’s for school or for legal purposes — and Google now offers this to more Pixel users. Google is rolling out call recording to older Pixel phones, and even some non-Pixel phones which use the Google Phone app.

Both Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 phones already include the AI-powered Call Notes function to generate summaries of your conversations. According to Google, the ability to record calls is now coming to Pixel 6 devices and up.

Read more: Best Pixel Phones of 2025

Pixel users with Android 14 software or later, and the latest version of the Google Phone app, can access Call Recording settings by going to Phone > Settings > Call Recording. Users can set up the ability to always record calls, as well as record from certain numbers.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

When in a call, users can press the record button at the bottom of the screen. The other party will then hear a message saying that the call will be recorded. Recordings will be kept indefinitely or you can choose to delete them after seven, 14, or 30 days.

While Google’s support page says the feature is available to non-Pixel phones with Android 9 and up, the feature does appear to be device-dependent. I attempted to use the feature on two recent Samsung Galaxy phones — one with AT&T and one on T-Mobile — and confirmed that the «Call Recording» option doesn’t appear.

A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple iPhone users can also record calls.