Amazon Launching Starlink Competing Satellites Today Called Project Kuiper
Update: The United Launch Alliance (ULA) postponed the Atlas V rocket launch for Amazon’s Project Kuiper mission on April 9, 2025, due to inclement weather at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Amazon officially kicked off its bold internet-from-space mission with the launch of 27 Project Kuiper satellites on April 9, 2025, marking a pivotal moment in the tech giant’s bid to rival SpaceX’s Starlink and deliver global broadband coverage.
A Heavy-Lift Milestone: KA-01 Mission Launches from Florida
The mission, Kuiper Atlas 1 (KA-01), launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Liftoff occurred during a two-hour launch window that opened at 7 p.m. Eastern, with the rocket carrying its heaviest payload to date into low Earth orbit (LEO).
Key mission specs:
- Rocket: Atlas V (501 configuration)
- Payload: 27 Kuiper satellites
- Initial orbit: ~280 miles (450 km) altitude
- Final orbit: ~392 miles (630 km)
- Objective: Successfully deploy satellites and demonstrate complete network functionality
This marks the first operational deployment for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which plans to launch 3,200+ satellites to build a high-speed, low-latency LEO internet network.
Why It Matters: Project Kuiper vs Starlink
LEO satellite internet is fast becoming one of the most important infrastructure races in tech. Unlike traditional geostationary satellites, which orbit 22,000+ miles away, LEO networks like Kuiper operate between 200 and 2,000 km above the Earth. This offers:
- Lower latency (signal travel time is shorter)
- Faster speeds and higher bandwidth
- Better coverage for underserved and remote regions
- Scalable, cost-effective deployment
Amazon is entering a space already occupied by SpaceX’s Starlink, which has over 5,000 satellites in orbit, but Kuiper brings Amazon’s massive cloud and logistics resources into play. The company plans to begin offering internet service to select customers by late 2025.
Rocket Specs: Atlas V 501 Configuration
While ULA’s Atlas V usually flies with solid rocket boosters for heavier missions, this 501 configuration uses:
- 5-meter payload fairing to house the satellites
- No solid boosters (implying the payload was optimized)
- First Stage: Russian-built RD-180 engine, generating 933,000+ lbs of thrust
- Upper Stage: Single-engine Centaur with an RL10 engine delivering 22,290 lbs of thrust
This tailored configuration allowed the Kuiper satellites to be inserted precisely into their target orbit, with future orbital adjustments planned to raise them to their final positions.
What’s Next?
This is just the first of dozens of launches Amazon has booked with ULA, Arianespace, and Blue Origin. The company has stated that it must launch at least half its Kuiper constellation by mid-2026 to comply with U.S. FCC license requirements.
As competition intensifies in the LEO space race, Kuiper’s success could unlock new global connectivity in education, healthcare, remote business, and more, especially for rural and hard-to-reach communities.
This launch isn’t just a milestone for Amazon, it’s the start of a broadband revolution beaming down from space.