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Amazon plans to launch thousands of satellites into space to establish a global internet network, a new filing has revealed.
The technology giant has requested permission from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fire 3,236 satellites into orbit as part of Project Kuiper, which seeks to provide internet to under-served parts of the world.
Amazon's plans for Project Kuiper were first revealed in April, though few details about the timeline for the launch were given.
"Project Kuiper is a new initiative to launch a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world," the firm said in a statement at the time.
"This is a long-term project that envisions serving tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet. We look forward to partnering on this initiative with companies that share this common vision."
One potential partner company is the space startup Blue Origin, which was founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Show all 30 1 /30The most incredible space images of Earth The most incredible space images of Earth Striking Africa Explore ESA astronaut Tim Peake's stunning photos of Earth, taken from the International Space Station during his six month mission (captions by Tom Peake)
"The striking colour and texture of Africa Illizi, Algeria"
The most incredible space images of Earth Favourite Reef "Every day spent living in space is a great day, but today was particularly special. I got to speak with one of my inspirational heroes Prof Stephen Hawking and his amazing daughter Lucy, who developed the Principia Space Diary to engage children with STEM subjects. As well as talking about dark matter, quantum entanglement, alien life and light beam powered nanocraft we also got to see an amazing pass over the Bahamas and this - my favourite reef smile emoticon"
The most incredible space images of Earth Russia's north-east coast "Sunrise approaching Russia's frozen north-east coast"
The most incredible space images of Earth Hello London "Hello London! Fancy a run? :) #LondonMarathon"
The most incredible space images of Earth Bahamas "50 shades of blue: Bahamas"
The most incredible space images of Earth Yinchuan "Snow on the mountains next to Yinchuan in China"
The most incredible space images of Earth Rocket flames in Africa "Is it just me or do I see some rocket flames down there? These strange land features are in the Erg Iguidi desert, with its yellow stripes of sand stretching from Algeria to northern Mauritania in the Sahara"
The most incredible space images of Earth Stunning colours "Sunlight reflecting the stunning colours of this Himalayan lake"
The most incredible space images of Earth The real Everest "The real thing: found Everest! Last picture turned out to be third-tallest mountain Kanchengjunga"
The most incredible space images of Earth Go Exomars "Go #Exomars – have a great mission. Earth has more in common with Mars than you might think… #AfricaArt"
The most incredible space images of Earth Tenerife "Amazingly clear view of Tenerife"
The most incredible space images of Earth Midday winter sun "Some midday winter sun glinting off Greenland’s snow-capped peaks"
The most incredible space images of Earth Sand dunes "Great texture in these huge sand dunes, Saudi Arabia"
The most incredible space images of Earth Dragon Dam "The dam makes this river look like a dragon’s tail. Oahe Dam north of Pierre, South Dakota in the United States. (North is to the right)"
The most incredible space images of Earth Smoking volcano "Spotted volcano smoking away on Russia’s far east coast this morning – heat has melted snow around top"
The most incredible space images of Earth New Zealand "New Zealand looking stunning in the sunshine. Mt Cook centre left with the Grand Plateau to the front and Mt Tasman (3,497m) to the right of the Grand Plateau. Fox Glacier in the middle then Franz Josef curving right. Tasman Lake (largest at front) is at the foot of the Tasman glacier which runs along the front of them. The Hooker Glacier flows out behind Mt Cook coming down to meet the Mueller Glacier on the left of the photo. The Murchison Glacier is at the front of the photo running parallel with the Tasman Glacier"
The most incredible space images of Earth Plankton bloom "Another great pass over Patagonia and a swirling plankton bloom off the coast"
The most incredible space images of Earth Alaska "We don’t often get such clear views of Alaska"
The most incredible space images of Earth Lights along the Nile "Lights along the Nile stretching into the distance from Cairo"
The most incredible space images of Earth Kamchatka "The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ clear to see amongst the volcanoes of Kamchatka, Russia"
The most incredible space images of Earth Cumulonimbus "I’m guessing there was an impressive storm going on under that cumulonimbus cloud"
The most incredible space images of Earth Night Sahara "Night-time Sahara – you can really see how thin the Earth’s atmosphere is in this picture"
The most incredible space images of Earth Japan "Tokyo and Japanese coast. This image shows most of Japan with the largest mass of light corresponding to Tokyo. The white lights on the left are fishing boats"
The most incredible space images of Earth Morning sun volcanoes "Morning sun striking active volcanoes in Guatemala"
The most incredible space images of Earth Tapajos River "The vast waters of the Tapajos river, Amazonia"
The most incredible space images of Earth Patagonia "Beautiful glacial river water flowing from this Patagonian ice field Lake Viedma, West is up"
The most incredible space images of Earth Dubai Palms "Minus the #Dragon photobomb this time..."
The most incredible space images of Earth Sediment in Ethiopia "Sediment spilling into this mountain lake, Ethiopia"
The most incredible space images of Earth Italy "We have phases of ‘short nights’ on the International Space Station – sunlight is nearly always visible right now. No prizes for guessing where this is…"
The most incredible space images of Earth Panama Canal "From one mighty ocean to another – ships passing through the Panama canal"
Amazon is not the only firm working to deploy a constellation of satellites to deliver a space-based internet.
With internet access declared a basic human right by the United Nations in 2016, several companies have since launched endeavours to provide coverage around the world.
One of Amazon's main rivals in this new space race is Elon Musk's SpaceX.
In May, SpaceX launched the first 60 satellites of its Starlink project , which hopes to eventually place nearly 12,000 internet satellites into orbit.
A further six Starlink launches are planned for later this year, with the FCC granting permission for 100 more deployments over the next six years.
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