Countdown on for Atlas V launch from Cape Canaveral of Amazon satellites
The countdown clock has begun for today’s planned liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the first of what’s planned to be dozens of launches for Amazon.
The Project Kuiper Protoflight mission is carrying two test satellites for Amazon in its efforts to nail down how it wants to construct the entirety of its planned 3,236-satellite constellation aiming to offer global broadband internet service and compete with the likes of SpaceX’s Starlink and other satellites systems.
The Atlas V making what would be its 99th launch ever is slated to lift off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 targeting 2:06 p.m. during the two-hour window that opens at 2 p.m. Live coverage will begin around 1:40 p.m. if the schedule holds.
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 70% chance for good launch conditions, and an 85% chance if the mission is delayed 24 hours.
“Thick clouds pose the primary concern for violating the launch weather rules today,” according to a weather update on ULA’s launch blog. “The thick cloud layer rule is violated when the rocket’s flight path would ascend through clouds that are greater than 4,500 feet in thickness and measure below freezing temperatures.”
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This marks only the third launch of 2023 for ULA while SpaceX has already managed 70 successful flights among launch pads in California and Florida. All of ULA’s launches have been from Cape Canaveral with one Delta IV Heavy and now its second Atlas V launch. It’s the 54th launch of the year from the Space Coast with SpaceX providing 50, ULA three and Relativity Space a lone launch back in March.
ULA’s launch frequency is slated to pick up in the next six years as it is contracted to provide the lion’s share of launches for Amazon’s satellites including nine of the company’s remaining 18 Atlas V rockets including today’s and another 38 on ULA’s in-development Vulcan Centaur rocket that could see its first flight before the end of the year.
Amazon is building out a $120 million satellite processing facility at the Kennedy Space Center’s former Shuttle Landing Facility set to begin operations by 2025 where final preps including satellite fueling will take place before being transported to ULA’s launch facilities as well as Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin on a neighboring pad on the Cape where the in-development New Glenn aims to join the launch party as well.
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Amazon founder Bezos stepped down as that company’s CEO and president in 2021 but remains as its executive chairman. He fully owns Blue Origin and funds it by selling off his Amazon shares each year. The Project Kuiper launch contract calls for an initial 12 launches on New Glenn with an additional optional 15. Both New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rely on Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines for launch of their first stage. Vulcan takes two of them while New Glenn needs seven for each launch.
Amazon also has tapped Arianespace and its in-development Ariane 6 rocket for an additional 18 launches and still has contracts for two launches with small rocket ABL Space Systems, on which it had originally planned to send up the prototype satellites, but shifted to ULA after delays. They were supposed to then fly on the first Vulcan flight back in May, but that too was delayed, so Amazon switched to the Atlas V.
Including today’s launch, Amazon has contracted for up to 94 launches for Project Kuiper with 47 to ULA, up to 27 to Blue Origin, 18 to Arianespace and two to ABL Space Systems.
Its license from the Federal Communications Commission demands half of the 3,236 satellites be placed in orbit by July 31, 2026 and the full constellation by July 31, 2029.
The first operational Project Kuiper satellites are expected to begin launching on the remaining eight Atlas V rockets under contract in 2024 and then shift to the three heavy-lift rockets from ULA, Blue Origin and Arianespace when they come online, but there’s a possibility those launches won’t commence until 2025.
