CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. – United Launch Alliance launched its first mission for Amazon’s satellite internet network Friday afternoon.
An Atlas V rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The two-hour launch window opened at 2 p.m. with a launch time of 2:06 p.m.
ULA’s rocket is delivering two satellites into low Earth orbit for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The program is a satellite network similar to SpaceX’s Starlink that promises affordable broadband internet to underserved communities.
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Favorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Friday attracted a crowd.
“We came for a vacation at the beach and knew there was a rocket launching and thought the kids would really enjoy seeing it,” Breana Miller said.
John Jacobsen brought his wife and their dog from Ocoee.
“We’re addicted to the sound of the rockets launching,” he said. “Sometimes you can hear it from Ocoee. If it’s late at night, you can hear the roar of the rockets. But here, it’s up personal and it’s live and it’s really, really cool.”
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SpaceX has more than 5,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, which they began launching in 2018 on the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.
ULA has a partnership with Amazon to launch hundreds of these Kuiper satellites. They hope to eventually launch more than 3,000 satellites.
Project Kuiper was originally supposed to launch on ULA’s Vulcan rocket, but that new spacecraft is grounded with problems, so Amazon switched to the Atlas V.
Because the first satellites are just prototypes, Amazon said it will deorbit them once this mission is over.
Amazon said full-scale production launches for Project Kuiper will start next year.
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