United Launch Alliance (ULA) has started the countdown clock for the deployment of Amazon’s second batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites.
The rocket operator released a time-lapse video on Sunday showing the Atlas V rocket moving from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpad at Cape Canaveral in Florida. ULA chief Tory Bruno noted that while the rocket appears to hurtle to its destination, the vehicle carrying it is actually moving at a mere 3 mph.
The mission was supposed to get away last week but technical issues and weather concerns caused the launch date to shift to Monday.
When the Atlas V heads skyward at 6:54 a.m. ET on Monday morning, it’ll deploy 27 Project Kuiper satellites to a low-Earth orbit, joining the 27 satellites launched by the same rocket in April.
Similar to SpaceX’s Starlink service, Amazon’s Project Kuiper is designed to bring fast, reliable internet to customers and communities around the world, with a particular focus on unserved and underserved communities.
But having started its satellite deployment in 2019, and now with a constellation of more than 7,000 serving more than 5 million customers globally, Starlink is currently some distance ahead of Project Kuiper.
Amazon is aiming for a constellation of more than 3,200 satellites, which it aims to have in place by the end of this decade.
Before then, possibly before the end of this year, Amazon hopes to be able to start offering a high-speed, low-latency internet service with just 1,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit. Expanding the constellation to the planned 3,200 satellites will enhance network performance and reliability for customers.
The e-commerce giant and cloud services powerhouse is investing more than $10 billion in Project Kuiper, which is expected to significantly expand global internet access.
If you’re interested in watching the launch as it happens, here’s everything you need to know.
