The United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched another group of Amazon’s internet satellites on the morning of December 16. The Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3:28 a.m. EST (0828 GMT).
Successful Launch of Amazon’s Satellites
This launch included 27 satellites from Amazon’s Project Leo, previously known as Project Kuiper. The goal of this initiative is to establish a satellite-internet network in low Earth orbit (LEO).
The network will eventually comprise around 3,200 satellites, requiring over 80 launches. Before this mission, six launches had successfully sent 153 Project Leo satellites to orbit.
Atlas V’s Role and Future Plans
This marked the fourth Project Leo mission for the Atlas V rocket, which has been reliable since its debut in August 2002. ULA is phasing out the Atlas V in favor of its newer Vulcan Centaur rocket.
The launch was expected to deploy the satellites about 20 minutes after liftoff, although the webcast was stopped five minutes into the flight. Full deployment details were not revealed.
Competition and Collaboration in Satellite Internet
Once operational, Project Leo aims to provide global internet coverage. It will be a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink, which is using over 9,000 satellites for its services.
Interestingly, SpaceX is also involved in the Project Leo network, as its Falcon 9 rocket is among the various rockets Amazon is utilizing for launches, along with others like Ariane 6 and New Glenn.
