Amazon’s Kuiper 1 internet satellites get new April 28 launch date on Atlas V rocket after delay

Amazon’s first internet satellite fleet has a new launch date at last.

After weeks of delays, the first 27 satellites of Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation are scheduled to lift off atop an Atlas V rocket on April 28, the rocket’s builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced over the weekend. Liftoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

“This launch begins a new chapter in the commercial launch industry as Amazon partners with ULA to deliver the first batch of their advanced satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO),” ULA wrote on Friday afternoon (April 18).

The mission, called Kuiper 1, is the first of a planned 83 launches for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation, which aims to place more than 3,200 satellites in orbit to provide high-speed internet from space. While Kuiper 1 will fly on a beefy ULA-built Atlas V rocket, Amazon will also launch Kuiper batches on Arianespace’s Ariane 6 rocket, ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Amazon launched two prototype Kuiper satellites in 2023 to set the stage for the Kuiper 1 mission.

ULA first attempted to launch Kuiper 1 for Amazon on April 9, but was delayed by weather. The company then said it was waiting for an available slot on the Eastern Range (used for launches from Florida) from the U.S. Space Force.

“Range availability,” ULA CEO Tory Bruno wrote on X when asked multiple times what was holding up the launch.

ULA has a two-hour launch window in which to launch Kuiper 1 for Amazon on April 28.