An Atlas V rocket of United Launch Alliance (ULA) lifts off from Area Launch Complicated 41 on the Kennedy Area Middle in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 23, 2025.
Gregg Newton | Afp | Getty Photographs
Amazon‘s second batch of Kuiper web satellites reached low Earth orbit on Monday, including to its plans for an enormous constellation and ramping up competitors with SpaceX’s Starlink.
A United Launch Alliance rocket carrying 27 Kuiper satellites lifted off from a launchpad on the Cape Canaveral Area Drive Station in Florida at 6:54 a.m. ET, according to a livestream.
“Now we have ignition and carry off of United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying satellites for Amazon’s Mission Kuiper web constellation, persevering with a brand new chapter in low Earth orbit satellite tv for pc connectivity,” Ben Chilton, an ordnance engineer at ULA, stated on the livestream following the launch.
Monday’s mission was rescheduled twice, owing to inclement climate and an issue with the rocket booster.
Six years in the past, Amazon unveiled its plans to construct a constellation of internet-beaming satellites in low Earth orbit, referred to as Mission Kuiper. The service will compete immediately with Elon Musk’s Starlink, which at present dominates the market and has 8,000 satellites in orbit.
Amazon in April efficiently despatched up 27 Kuiper web satellites into low Earth orbit, a area of house that is inside 1,200 miles of the Earth’s floor.
The 54 craft at present in orbit are the beginning of Amazon’s deliberate constellation of three,236 satellites. The corporate has to satisfy a Federal Communications Fee deadline to launch half of its whole constellation, or 1,618 satellites, by July 2026.
The corporate has booked greater than 80 launches with a number of suppliers, together with rival SpaceX, to ship Kuiper its satellites into orbit.
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