Elon Musk has long dominated the satellite business that provides the internet with the launch of the regular SpaceX Starlink. Currently, Jeff Bezos is about to compete with Amazon’s Project Kuiper.
Atlas V: What Amazon Rocket Launch Looks in Palm Beach County
Atlas v Rocket Liftoff On April 28, 2025, the Kuiper satellite was sent into low Earth orbit. “Amazon Rocket Release” was seen in Palm Beach County, Florida.
- Amazon’s project Kuiper will provide high-speed internet to customers around the world with more than 80 planned launches to deploy more than 3,200 satellites one day.
- The first launch will be held from Florida on April 28th, with the next launch, planned for June 16th, double the orbital Kuiper satellite to 54.
- The Kuiper Initiative is a direct challenge to Elon Musk, where SpaceX Company has been providing more than 7,000 StarLink satellites into orbit since 2019.
For years, billionaire Elon Musk has dominated the satellite business that provides the internet with his ever-growing Starlink constellations.
Since 2019, SpaceX’s famous Falcon 9 Rocket has been distributed regularly to Orbit Batches after batches of Starlink satellites from launch sites in Florida and California. And since 2019, the venture has essentially not been challenged.
But it’s beginning to change.
As of late April, rival billionaire Jeff Bezos has officially entered the broadband network market following the initial launch of Amazon’s Internet Beam satellite into satellite orbit. Known as Project Kuiper, the initiative is a subsidiary of online Commerce Behemoth, which made Bezos one of the wealthiest men living.
Now, after delivering the first batch of 27 Kuiper satellites on April 28th, Amazon is about to roll out more.
The upcoming release, which has been signed back with Colorado-based United Launch Alliance, could potentially descend from ground from Florida on Monday, June 16th. The success of the mission doubles the number of Kuiper Satellites deployed by Amazon, but the company has a long way to go before about 3,200 total planned satellites can operate in low-Earth orbit.
What you need to know about how Bezos expects Amazon to compete with Musk, Starlink and Project Kuiper, will be able to start serving customers by the second half of 2025.
What is Project Kuiper? Amazon builds satellite constellations
Amazon’s Project Kuiper will one day provide high-speed internet to customers around the world. To achieve that goal, the company has begun building satellite constellations linked to a global network of ground antennas, textiles and internet connection points.
The effort officially began in April with a mission known as Kuiper Atlas 1 (KA-01). It was named both the Kuiper satellite and the Atlas V rocket that delivered to low Earth orbit. The famous Atlas V Rocket is developed and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
According to the company, the satellite has been significantly upgraded after the launch of the prototype Kuiper satellite in October 2023.
Project Kuiper’s Amazon’s $10 billion plan includes a $140 million, 100,000 square foot processing plant at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, preparing to launch Project Kuiper’s satellites from Cape.
Amazon promotes the service as a service that benefits “unused and unserved communities” in rural areas where internet access is elusive.
What is Starlink? Jeff Bezos, Amazon competes with Elon Musk
The venture offers a ton of competition for Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man who founded SpaceX in 2002.
Musk’s commercial spaceflight company has long led the launch of satellites, bringing over 7,000 operating Starlink satellites into orbit since 2019.
SpaceX’s famous two-stage Falcon 9 Rocket launch has become a routine in Florida and California. This year, the Federal Aviation Administration, which licensed commercial rockets to be released, provided Greenlight to SpaceX, increasing the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Van Denburg Space Force Base in Southern California, Santa Barbara County, from 36 to 50 per year.
When will Kuiper Satellites be released next ULA from Florida?
Deliveries of 27 additional Amazon Kuiper satellites could occur immediately on Monday, June 16th.
Another ULA Atlas V Rocket is set to be released as early as 1:25pm on ET ET from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Again, the Atlas V is equipped with five solid rocket boosters, adding them to the main booster that corresponds to the heaviest payload ever flew in order to add a liftoff. So it’s possible that people from states beyond Florida can see the launch vehicle soaring into the air.
After lift-off, the rocket deploys the satellite to an altitude of 280 miles above Earth. The satellite then autonomously uses an electric propulsion system to rise to 392 miles tall, allowing the Earth to orbit every 90 minutes, according to Amazon.
It’s also around the time the Amazon Project Kuiper team takes control of the operation center in Redmond, Washington.
Works in what is called low-earth orbit – an altitude that allows satellite-like items to circle the Earth fairly quickly – helps reduce delays and connectivity issues during video calls, gaming, and streaming.
What’s next for Amazon’s satellite signs?
As Amazon continues to accumulate satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit, it will be the second out of approximately 80 in the future. If everything goes as planned, the company said it “expects to start serving customers later this year.”
Bezos and Amazon have come a long way from catching up to Musk and Starlink, but the first generation Kuiper satellite system is expected to include 3,232 high-earth orbit satellites. And while Musk can take advantage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket for Starlink deployment, Bezos still doesn’t have that luxury.
SpaceFlight Company Blue Origin, which also owns Bezos, is developing a massive new Glenn Rocket for Kuiper Deliveries, but Amazon will rely on contracting with other launch service providers for the launch of Kuiper, including SpaceX.
However, the United Launch Alliance will deploy most of the satellites to Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur rockets. Amazon also plans to sign a deal with Arianespace.
ULA can launch five more Kuiper Missions this year, ULA CEO Tory Bruno told Reuters in an interview in April. Amazon said in its 2020 FCC filing it could launch services in some of its 578 satellites in the northern and southern regions, expanding towards the Earth’s equator as the company launches more satellites.
Contribution: Rick Neal, Florida today. Reuters
Eric Lagatta is a Space Connect reporter for the USA Today Network. Contact him at elagatta@gannett.com