{"id":17257,"date":"2023-09-30T00:42:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T16:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/amazon-satellites-are-placed-atop-atlas-v-rocket-for-milestone-launch-on-october-6\/"},"modified":"2023-09-30T00:42:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T16:42:21","slug":"amazon-satellites-are-placed-atop-atlas-v-rocket-for-milestone-launch-on-october-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/amazon-satellites-are-placed-atop-atlas-v-rocket-for-milestone-launch-on-october-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon satellites are placed atop Atlas V rocket for milestone launch on October 6"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230929-amazon-atlas-630x442.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-792436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230929-amazon-atlas-630x442.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230929-amazon-atlas-1260x885.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230929-amazon-atlas-768x539.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230929-amazon-atlas-1536x1079.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230929-amazon-atlas-2048x1438.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Amazon Kuiper Protoflight payload arrives at United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (ULA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>United Launch Alliance says the first prototype satellites for Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper broadband network have been placed atop their Atlas V rocket, with launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida set for Oct. 6.<\/p>\n<p>The launch window will open on that day at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT), ULA said today in an online update.<\/p>\n<p>Liftoff will mark a milestone for Project Kuiper, which aims to put more than 3,200 satellites into orbit to provide broadband internet access to millions of people around the world who are currently underserved. Kuiper is seen as a competitor to SpaceX\u2019s Starlink satellite network, which already has more than 2 million subscribers.<\/p>\n<p>The satellites for both those networks are built in the Seattle area: SpaceX\u2019s satellite development and manufacturing facility is in Redmond, Wash., where Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper is also headquartered. Amazon is readying a 172,000-square-foot facility in nearby Kirkland to start turning out production models of its satellite by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Project Kuiper\u2019s two prototypes \u2014 Kuipersat 1 and 2 \u2014 are meant to test the hardware and system operations in advance of the expected production ramp-up. They had originally been slated to launch on ULA\u2019s next-generation Vulcan rocket, but the payload was switched to ULA\u2019s workhorse Atlas V after the Vulcan development program encountered a series of delays.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1707762387195924905&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2023%2Famazon-satellites-atlas-v-rocket-kuiper-october%2F&amp;sessionId=93450bcbb7b1a5bc70480ae0809f85665696752c&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1707762387195924905\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782799373495729407=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Prototypes for #Amazon&#8217;s #ProjectKuiper are now atop the #AtlasV rocket for launch! The satellite network will provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Read the latest on the #Protoflight launch preps: https:\/\/t.co\/gbEHRwIRuk pic.twitter.com\/EzttTQEJ0z<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 ULA (@ulalaunch) September 29, 2023<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Atlas 501 variant that\u2019s due to be used for next week\u2019s launch is capable of putting nearly 18,000 pounds of payload into low Earth orbit. That\u2019s far more power than what\u2019s required to loft two Kuiper satellites, which are thought to weigh somewhere around 1,300 to 1,540 pounds each.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon\u2019s license from the Federal Communications Commission calls for launching half of the 3,236 satellites for the Kuiper constellation by mid-2026 \u2014 which suggests the launch schedule will be tight. Schedule considerations are likely to have figured into this summer\u2019s decision to switch from Vulcan to the Atlas V.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon has contracted with ULA, Arianespace and Blue Origin (which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) to conduct up to 77 launches for satellite deployment. Most of those launches would use next-generation rockets that haven\u2019t yet flown: ULA\u2019s Vulcan, Arianespace\u2019s Ariane 6 and Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn. Nine launches are set to use the Atlas V, and next week\u2019s scheduled launch counts as one of the nine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Amazon Kuiper Protoflight payload arrives at United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (ULA Photo) United Launch Alliance says the first prototype satellites for Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper broadband network have been placed atop their Atlas V rocket, with launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[275,724,962,20,4336,442,750],"class_list":["post-17257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-amazon","tag-atlas-5","tag-project-kuiper","tag-satellite","tag-satellite-broadband","tag-satellites","tag-united-launch-alliance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17257\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}