WASHINGTON — An Atlas 5 launched a second group of satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation June 23.
The Atlas 5 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:54 a.m. Eastern. This was the second attempt to launch the vehicle after the initial attempt June 16 was scrubbed because of an issue with the booster that required the vehicle to be rolled back from the pad for repairs.
As with the first Kuiper launch in April, this mission operated under a level of secrecy normally associated with classified national security missions. United Launch Alliance ended the launch webcast five minutes after liftoff, shortly after the ignition of the Centaur upper stage on its first burn. A timeline released by the company before the launch did not include any milestones after the completion of that Centaur burn more than 18 minutes after liftoff, such as deployment of the Kuiper satellites.
ULA said in a statement a little more than an hour after liftoff that it deployed the Kuiper satellites on board “into the intended orbit,” which it did not disclose. Amazon, in its own statement, said the 27 satellites were placed into orbits at altitudes of 450 kilometers, and after initial checkouts will move to operational orbits at 630 kilometers altitude.
Another Atlas 5 launched the first operational set of Kuiper satellites April 28. Those satellites have only started the orbit-raising process, with the highest at an altitude of about 560 kilometers and many still just above 450 kilometers, according to U.S. Space Force tracking data.
With this launch, designated KA-02 by Amazon, the company has 54 Kuiper satellites in orbit, as well as two prototype satellites that are in the process of deorbiting. Amazon procured more than 80 launches in 2022 from Arianespace, Blue Origin and ULA to deploy the full constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in the largest commercial launch deal ever.
ULA has six more Atlas 5 launches reserved for Kuiper as it retires that vehicle. It also has a contract for 38 Vulcan launches, each of which will carry 45 Kuiper satellites. Arianespace will perform 18 Ariane 6 launches of Kuiper satellites, while Blue Origin has a contract for 12 New Glenn launches and an option for 15 more.
Amazon’s strategy of relying primarily on new vehicles — Ariane 6, New Glenn and Vulcan have performed five launches combined to date — has contributed to delays in the deployment of the Kuiper satellites. The company is about a year behind schedule deploying the constellation and is unlikely to meet a milestone in its Federal Communications Commission license that requires half the satellites to be in orbit by July 2026.
The company said in April it expected the pace of launches to increase later in the year, allowing it to begin beta testing of the constellation before the end of the year. The company can ask the FCC to extend the deployment deadline, citing factors like launch vehicle delays beyond its control.
ULA separately confirmed after the KA-02 launch that its next mission will be the first national security mission for its Vulcan rocket after that vehicle was certified by the Space Force in March. The company did not disclose a launch date for the USSF-106 mission.
