Atlas 5

Amazon to launch first Kuiper satellites on ULA Atlas 5 rocket following Vulcan delays

The opening salvo in Amazon’s 3,236-satellite Project Kuiper venture is switching its ride to space. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Spaceflight Now on Monday that the first two demonstration satellites for the broadband constellation will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket as soon as Sept. 26, 2023, instead of the inaugural Vulcan rocket.

Atlas 5

Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket launches on its final mission from California

The final launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from California took off early Thursday with NOAA’s JPSS 2 weather satellite and the LOFTID re-entry tech demo experiment for NASA. The Atlas 5 rocket launched at 1:49 a.m. PST (4:49 a.m. EST; 0949 GMT) Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. United Launch Alliance has 19 more Atlas 5s slated to launch from Florida before the rocket’s retirement.