{"id":17271,"date":"2023-08-08T00:10:58","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T16:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/plans-for-launch-of-prototype-satellites-for-amazons-project-kuiper-revised-again\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T00:10:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T16:10:58","slug":"plans-for-launch-of-prototype-satellites-for-amazons-project-kuiper-revised-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/plans-for-launch-of-prototype-satellites-for-amazons-project-kuiper-revised-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Plans for launch of prototype satellites for Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper revised \u2026 again"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/210418-kuiper1-630x354.jpg\" alt=\"Atlas V launch for Amazon\" class=\"wp-image-615444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/210418-kuiper1-630x354.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/210418-kuiper1-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/210418-kuiper1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/210418-kuiper1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/210418-kuiper1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist\u2019s conception shows an Atlas V rocket launching Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA \/ Amazon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Amazon\u2019s plans to launch the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation have changed for the second time in a year \u2014 and once again, rocket development snags are the reason.<\/p>\n<p>The revised plans call for KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 to be sent into low Earth orbit by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with launch set for no earlier than Sept. 26 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. <\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft are meant to test the systems and processes that Amazon will use for thousands of satellites designed to provide global internet access. Production of those satellites is scheduled to begin this year at a 172,000-square-foot factory in Kirkland, Wash.<\/p>\n<p>Originally, Amazon planned to have the prototypes launched last year on ABL Space Systems\u2019 RS1 rocket, but ABL repeatedly ran into setbacks during development of the rocket. (Its first RS1 launch failed in January.)<\/p>\n<p>Last October, Amazon switched the KuiperSat launch to ULA\u2019s next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket. The plan called for the prototypes to go into orbit as secondary payloads on the first-ever Vulcan launch, with Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine lunar lander as the primary payload.<\/p>\n<p>At that time, the Vulcan launch was set for early 2023; however, issues involving the readiness of the lander and the rocket have caused a string of delays since then. In March, the rocket\u2019s Centaur V second stage exploded during a pre-launch test, due to a hydrogen leak. ULA has reinforced the Centaur\u2019s structure to address the problem, but further testing could require further delays.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Can Amazon Compete With SpaceX In The Satellite Internet Business?\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/12xYSwfsSj0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Last week, a filing with the Federal Communications Commission suggested that ULA was planning to launch the KuiperSats on its tried-and-true Atlas V rocket rather than on the first Vulcan rocket. Amazon and ULA confirmed the switch today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cULA is working backward from a launch date in fall 2023,\u201d Amazon said in an updated blog posting. \u201cWe will have more detail to share as the mission approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although Amazon didn\u2019t provide further details, the realities of the company\u2019s development timetable probably factored into the decision to make the switch. Under the terms of its FCC license, Amazon is required to have half of its planned 3,236-satellite constellation operating in low Earth orbit by mid-2026. Even though ULA insists it\u2019s on track to launch Vulcan by the end of this year, Amazon may have decided to reduce the risk of further postponements.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon has reserved nine Atlas V launches as part of its grand plan to deploy the Project Kuiper constellation, and next month\u2019s launch counts as one of those nine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows an Atlas V rocket launching Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA \/ Amazon) Amazon\u2019s plans to launch the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation have changed for the second time in a year \u2014 and once again, rocket development snags are the reason. The revised plans call for [&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":[724,962,20,4336,442,750],"class_list":["post-17271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","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\/17271"}],"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=17271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}