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Paris, 20 April 2021. – Not Blue Origin, not SpaceX: Amazon contracted nine Atlas V rockets to launch a first part of its Project Kuiper broadband constellation.
Amazon has secured Atlas V for nine launches supporting the deployment of its ambitious Project Kuiper initiative, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced. It did not disclose the cost.
With Project Kuiper, Amazon wants to increase global broadband coverage through a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
The Atlas V missions will launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Atlas V has long been “the nation’s reliable workhorse for space launch” and has been a key enabler to many critical missions for national security space, NASA and commercial customers including, GPS, SBIRS and MUOS constellations, as well as Mars Curiosity, InSight and Mars 2020 missions, ULA said.
Amazon has committed more than $10 billion to deliver on its mission for Project Kuiper, which aims to make high-speed, low-latency broadband more affordable and accessible for unserved and underserved communities around the world. The project will serve individual households, as well as schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in places without reliable broadband.
