BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Amazon’s Project Kuiper is set for its inaugural launch atop a ULA Atlas V rocket from Florida’s Space Coast.
The Atlas V 551 rocket, configured with five side-mounted solid rocket boosters, will deliver the first satellites of the constellation into low Earth orbit.
The rocket is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday, April 9, at 7 p.m.
“Its mission is to provide fast, reliable internet to customers around the world, including those in unserved and underserved communities, using a constellation of more than 3,200 LEO satellites,” ULA said on its website.
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Announced in 2021, the Kuiper Project will compete against SpaceX’s Starlink internet.
Amazon broke ground on what was to be a $120 million, 100,000-square-foot facility at the Space Florida Launch and Landing Facility in 2023, but the cost to build the site has since grown to nearly $140 million with the addition of plans for a 42,000-square-foot secondary support facility intended to ensure Project Kuiper missions launch reliably and on time.
Amazon said it “has secured 80 launches from Arianespace, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance, and we have options for additional launches with Blue Origin, providing enough capacity to deploy the majority of our satellite constellation.”
Project Kuiper seeks to eventually have a constellation of more than 3,200 LEO satellites, ULA said.
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