First Operational Project Kuiper Satellites Reach Orbit

Weather cooperated tonight and the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket sent the first 27 operational Project Kuiper satellites into orbit for Amazon.  Similar to SpaceX’s Starlink system, Project Kuiper will grow into a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites to provide Internet broadband services via satellite around the globe.

Bad weather scrubbed the first attempt to launch these satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on April 9.  The rocket and the satellites have been ready to go ever since, but CCSFS is part of the U.S. Space Force’s Eastern Range and it’s a busy place for Space Force activities and commercial space launches. It took until today for ULA to get a slot. Weather was good and liftoff was at 7:01 pm ET.

On the shoulders of #AtlasV, #ProjectKuiper takes flight!https://t.co/B8eRFjLr7d pic.twitter.com/H3VS6Q76zp

— ULA (@ulalaunch) April 28, 2025

In 2022, Amazon bought “up to” 83 launches with options for 15 more from ULA, Blue Origin, and Europe’s Ariane 6. That was on top of nine it already had purchased from ULA. The current count is nine Atlas V and 38 Vulcan launches from ULA; 18 on Europe’s Ariane 6; and 12 on Blue Origin’s New Glenn. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns Blue Origin, which also makes the engines for ULA’s Vulcan first stage. Amazon also purchased three Falcon 9 launches from SpaceX in 2023.

The first of the nine Atlas Vs was used to launch two experimental satellites in October 2023. This is the first set of operational satellites. Amazon refers to it as KA-01 for Kuiper Atlas 1.

Project Kuiper will be a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink system. SpaceX already has more than 7,000 of its satellites in orbit with thousands more planned. Other countries and companies are planning similar systems that offer fast Internet connectivity just about everywhere in the world. The plethora of satellites is raising concerns about congestion and possible collisions in orbit and some question whether there’s enough of a market to sustain so many systems.

Amazon’s July 2020 license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires the company to launch half the constellation by July 30, 2026, which seems a tall order at this point in time.  Not only were there delays in building the three new rockets — Vulcan and Ariane 6 have made only two flights each so far and New Glenn had its first and only flight in January — but Amazon reportedly is having difficulty ramping up the pace of satellite production at its facility in Kirkland, Washington.  Whether the FCC would grant Amazon an extension is unknown. The remainder of the constellation is supposed to be in place by July 30, 2029.

Getting the satellites into orbit is the first step. This was the heaviest payload ever launched by an Atlas V and its job was to deliver the satellites to 450 kilometers (280 miles). They will use their own electric propulsion systems to reach their operational orbits at 630 kilometers (392 miles). Then Amazon will need to check them out and verify if they are operating as expected.

Amazon hadn’t issued a statement as of press time, but ULA called the launch “ an incredible milestone in Amazon’s ambitious initiative to provide fast, reliable broadband service to unserved and underserved communities around the world.”

ULA is phasing out the Atlas V rocket in favor of Vulcan. Atlas Vs are powered by Russian RD-180 engines. The engine has a 100 percent success record, but after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Congress directed that national security space launches could not use Russian-made engines for contracts awarded after “Phase 2” of the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) procurement that ran through 2022.

ULA has completed all of its national security space launches using Atlas V and will use only Vulcan now, which was just certified.  The remaining Altas Vs will be used for commercial customers like Amazon.