Under clear, hot skies this morning, United Launch Alliance launched one of their fifteen remaining Atlas V rockets carrying 27 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Launch was at 6:54 AM from LC-41 at Cape Canaveral and by all appearances, it was a nominal flight for the veteran rocket. This was the 103rd launch for an Atlas V which entered service on August 21, 2002. All missions save one have been successful, and that mission was a partial success on Atlas V’s first launch.

Today’s launch was the second attempt for this mission. On June 16th, the countdown was halted due to an engine problem, necessitating a return trip to ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility, located at LC-37, for repairs. Once the issues were remediated, the rocket and the weather both cooperated flawlessly in today’s countdown, leading to the launch at the opening of the launch window.

Today’s mission will place 27 Kuiper satellites into orbit, making 54 of the planned 3,236 satellites in 98 orbital planes across three orbital shells at altitudes of 590 km, 610 km, and 630 km. Those satellites that will comprise the constellation Amazon is planning for Internet connectivity services. While Amazon has thousands of satellites left on the manifest to launch for Project Kuiper, the company has stated that they plan to start providing internet service later this year.

“We are proud to continue our strong partnership with Amazon and empower their mission to bridge the digital divide through reliable satellite technology,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. “ULA, working as a catalyst to global connectivity in collaboration with Amazon, enables delivery of these critical satellites designed to drive innovation and connect the world.” 

At 8:02 AM ET, ULA announced that they had placed the payload into a successful orbit, marking the operational end of the mission.

Kuiper is planned to compete against SpaceX’s Starlink Internet service, which is already far ahead both in terms of satellites on orbit (Starlink has over 7,000, with their number increasing with as many as three launches per week) and customers (Starlink has over six million customers in over 100 countries and territories worldwide.) While Starlink has a massive head start, Amazon is hoping to play the hare to SpaceX’s rabbit and to provide a viable source of competition to the SpaceX product as soon as is possible.

ULA’s next launch is the first Vulcan mission for the U.S. Space Force, USSF-106. 

Payload

Not much is known about the appearance of the Kuiper satellite, as Amazon has kept a tight lid on the information released about the physical appearance of their orbital platforms.

Next Launch

Wednesday afternoon, SpaceX plans to launch another group of Starlink satellites from SLC-40.

Mission	Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10‑16
Organization	SpaceX
Location	Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5
Pad	Space Launch Complex 40
Status	To Be Confirmed
Status Info	Awaiting official confirmation – current date is known with some certainty.
Window Opens	Wednesday, 06/25/2025 12:33:00 PM EDT
Window Closes	Wednesday, 06/25/2025 4:33:00 PM EDT
Destination	Low Earth Orbit
Mission Description	A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega‑constellation – SpaceX’s project for a space‑based Internet communication system.