United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Image: United Launch Alliance
The satellites are the first of a delayed deployment set to rival Musk’s SpaceX Starlink network.
On Monday (28 April) Amazon successfully deployed its first batch of Kuiper satellites on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The launch, which took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, had 27 satellites aboard and flew to an altitude of roughly 450km above the Earth’s atmosphere. The satellites then make their own way to an operational altitude of 630km.
The Kuiper project was established to rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink programme and to bring inexpensive, high-speed internet connections to unserved and underserved locations globally.
In a statement Amazon said, “Our first-generation satellite system will include more than 3,200 advanced low Earth orbit satellites and we’ve secured more than 80 launches to deploy that initial constellation, with each one adding dozens of satellites to the network. The KA-01 mission is just the first step in that process.”
As the KA-01 mission is the heaviest payload to be carried by ULA’s Atlas V rocket, the vehicle required a powerful configuration that included five solid rocket boosters in addition to the main booster and a payload fairing 77 ft high and more than 16 ft wide.
“Over the next few years, Kuiper and ULA teams will conduct seven more Atlas V launches and 38 launches on ULA’s larger Vulcan Centaur rocket. An additional 30-plus launches are planned across our other launch providers, Arianespace, Blue Origin and SpaceX.”
Amazon is expected to confirm whether it has made contact with all the satellites in the coming days.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and founder, will be hoping for a smoother run than SpaceX founder Elon Musk has experienced as of late. In early March, the Starship suffered yet another setback as it exploded minutes into its eight test flight from the Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. It was the second high profile failure for Musk’s space programme this year.
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