FIRST LAUNCH OF OPERATIONAL PROJECT KUIPER SATELLITES (ULA), Apr 28, 2025, CCSFS, 7:00 pm ET

Update, April 18:  The Eastern Range has been very busy, so it’s taken this long for ULA to get a new slot to launch this mission.  The new date is April 28, with the two-hour launch window opening at 7:00 pm ET as before.

Update, April 7:  The launch time has changed to 7:00-9:00 pm ET.  ULA officials told reporters at the Space Symposium that the change was “range-related,” a reference to the Eastern Range of which CCSFS is part. The range is controlled by the U.S. Space Force.

Original Entry: The United Launch Alliance (ULA) will launch the first batch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites on April 9, 2025 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on an Atlas V rocket. The 3-hour launch window opens at 12:00 pm ET.

Two prototypes were launched in October 2023. These are the first operational satellites.

ULA will livestream the launch beginning about 20 minutes before launch.

Project Kuiper is a “mega constellation” of broadband Internet satellites that will compete with SpaceX’s Starlink and other similar systems.  There are 27 satellites on this launch, the first of a total of “more than 3,200” satellites in the constellation. Amazon purchased a record number of launches from ULA and other providers to get the satellites into orbit.  The is the first of eight launches on ULA’s Atlas V and another 38 are planned on ULA’s new Vulcan rocket.