Amazon launches its first internet satellites to rival SpaceX Starlink
Screenshot
ULA
Amazon has successfully launched its first satellites for the company’s Project Kuiper internet-from-space service, which will take on SpaceX’s Starlink service.
The satellites launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7 p.m. ET on Monday.
The KA-01 mission is deploying 27 satellites to an orbit about 280 miles above Earth. The long-term plan is to deploy at least 3,200 Project Kuiper satellites in low-Earth orbit, providing broadband connectivity to individuals and businesses on the ground.
Speaking at a news release earlier this month, Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper, said: “We’ve designed some of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, and every launch is an opportunity to add more capacity and coverage to our network.”
Badyal added: “We’ve done extensive testing on the ground to prepare for this first mission, but there are some things you can only learn in flight, and this will be the first time we’ve flown our final satellite design and the first time we’ve deployed so many satellites at once.”
Earlier this year, Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs, said ULA and Amazon were aiming to conduct multiple launches throughout 2025 to get more Project Kuiper satellites into orbit.
ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said the company’s Atlas V rocket can carry a maximum of 27 Project Kuiper satellites in one mission, while its other rocket, the newer Vulcan vehicle, can carry as many as 45 in a single mission. Amazon will also use Blue Origin’s next-generation New Glenn rocket to deploy the satellites.
Since launching its first batch of Starlink satellites in 2019, SpaceX now has more than 8,000 of them in low-Earth orbit following numerous launches using its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. The service is reported to have more than 5 million paying customers globally.
With Starlink now well established, it’s likely to be several years before Project Kuiper will be able to compete at a meaningful level.
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