1 of 3 | A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is prepared to launch the first payload Wednesday for Amazon’s Kuiper program from Launch Complex 41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
The first batch of satellites owned by Amazon as part of its Project Kuiper to expand global Internet access is set to launch Wednesday in Florida. The payload will be lifted by United Launch Alliance.
The liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station has a targeted 7 p.m. EDT liftoff during the opening of a two-hour launch window.
Meanwhile, live coverage is expected to begin about an hour prior to liftoff.
ULA is prepping its first of dozens of anticipated launch missions on behalf of its biggest commercial customer, Amazon, on its Atlas 551 rocket that will transport 27 “Project Kuiper” satellites into low Earth orbit.
There was a 55% chance of favorable weather for Wednesday’s liftoff, with some concerns over cumulus clouds, wind and potential for isolated rain, the 45th Weather Squadron based at Patrick Space Force Base said Tuesday.
The project’s ultimate goal is to provide end-to-end connectivity that will deliver Internet service to virtually any location on Earth.
United Launch Alliance has dubbed it Kuiper 1 and Kuiper Atlas 1 by Amazon.
Amazon’s first batch of Project Kuiper satellites will be part of the company’s constellation of more than 3,200 Internet satellites designed to rival other companies like Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Elon Musk’s Starlink via SpaceX.
Amazon officials say the global company will begin customer service once its initial 578 satellites are operational, according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
On Monday, ULA President and CEO Tony Bruno said the company is shooting for late spring or early summer for its next Kuiper Atlas mission prior to transitioning their operations to its first national security mission via a Vulcan rocket.
“We have set out to design the most advanced satellite network ever built and we have created the whole thing in-house at Amazon,” Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Technology for the Kuiper Satellite Network, said in an Amazon-produced video.
Bruno added he expects ULA to launch anywhere from 11 to 14 missions before the end of 2025.
“You need just about every technology area to contribute to build the satellite, the propulsion system, the solar arrays, the silicon, the phased array antennas, the optical inter-satellite links,” added Badyal.
