First Batch of 27 Amazon Kuipers Set for April 9 Launch
The initial group of Amazon's Kuiper satellites is set for launch April 9 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, Amazon said Wednesday. The 27 Kuipers will be deployed at an altitude of 450 kilometers, it added. Amazon expects…
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to offer commercial satellite broadband service later this year, the company said, calling the 27 satellites "a significant upgrade" from the prototypes launched in 2023 (see 2310110007). Amazon said the satellites are coated in a mirror film that scatters reflected sunlight to make them less visible to ground-based astronomers. In the next several years, there are seven more Kuiper launches planned on Atlas V, along with 38 launches on ULA's larger Vulcan Centaur rocket and 30-plus launches by Arianespace, Blue Origin and SpaceX.