Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellites set for launch on April 9

Investing.com -- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s Project Kuiper is preparing to launch its first full-scale batch of broadband satellites into space, marking a significant step in its mission to provide fast, reliable internet to customers worldwide. The mission, known as "KA-01" for Kuiper Atlas (NYSE:ATCO) 1, will deploy 27 satellites from a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 9.

The satellites will be sent into a low Earth orbit, at an altitude of 280 miles above Earth. Updates on the launch will be provided via ULA’s "Kuiper 1" mission page, including a livestream commencing around 20 minutes before liftoff.

Project Kuiper aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to virtually any location on Earth. The service is expected to commence later this year. The first-generation satellite system will include over 3,200 advanced low Earth orbit satellites. More than 80 launches have been secured to deploy the initial constellation, with each adding dozens of satellites to the network.

Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper, stated, “We’ve designed some of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, and every launch is an opportunity to add more capacity and coverage to our network. This first mission will be the initial step in that process."

The satellites for KA-01 are an upgrade from the two prototype satellites tested during the Protoflight mission in October 2023. Improvements have been made to every system and sub-system on board, including phased array antennas, processors, solar arrays, propulsion systems, and optical inter-satellite links.

Project Kuiper’s satellite payload will be the heaviest that ULA’s Atlas V rocket has ever carried. To accommodate it, ULA will be flying Atlas V in its most powerful configuration, with five solid rocket boosters and a payload fairing that is 77 feet high and 16.4 feet wide.

Over the coming years, Kuiper and ULA teams will conduct seven more Atlas V launches and 38 launches on ULA’s larger Vulcan Centaur rocket. An additional 30-plus launches are planned with other launch providers: Arianespace, Blue Origin, and SpaceX.

Following the launch, the months-long KA-01 mission will begin. ULA will manage the launch and deployment sequence from their Advanced Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Once all satellites have separated from the rocket, the Kuiper team will take over constellation management from their 24/7 mission operations center in Redmond, Washington.

The initial objective for the KA-01 mission is to safely deploy all satellites in orbit. Once the satellites have successfully separated from the rocket, they will activate onboard systems and use their electric propulsion systems to ascend to their assigned orbit of 392 miles. The satellites will travel at a speed of over 17,000 miles per hour on orbit and circle the planet approximately every 90 minutes.

After KA-01, Project Kuiper will continue to increase production, processing, and deployment rates as it prepares to begin delivering service to customers. The team has already begun shipping and processing satellites for the next mission, KA-02, which will also use a ULA Atlas V rocket and launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

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