First Amazon Project Kuiper satellites launched

Amazon.com Inc.’s first batch of production satellites launched toward low-Earth orbit on Monday, the biggest step to date in the company’s effort to establish a business broadcasting internet connectivity from space.

The first 27 satellites to roll off Amazon’s assembly line, riding on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, lifted off at about 7:01 p.m. local time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The rocket is set to deploy the satellites at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers), Amazon said in a blog post.

From there, they’ll use onboard propulsion systems to ascend to their assigned orbit some 392 miles (631 km) up.

The craft are the first in a planned 3,236-satellite constellation that Amazon intends to use to sell internet connectivity to consumers as well as corporate and government clients.

That business today is dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Starlink unit.

Amazon, which has said it will spend more than $10 billion (R186 billion) on the initiative, had previously tested two satellite prototypes, launched in late 2023.