Amazon is going into competition with SpaceX, with its Project Kuiper broadband satellite-based internet service intended to rival Starlink. The first launch of Project Kuiper satellites is scheduled for today, Wednesday April 9, and if you’d like to watch along at home then the event will be livestreamed.
The launch will use a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and will take place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission, named “KA-01”, will carry 27 satellites into an orbit 280 miles above the Earth’s surface.
You can watch using the video embedded above, or by heading to the United Launch Alliance’s YouTube page for the launch. Coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. ET, with the launch scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
This is just the first of many planned Kuiper launches, as Amazon has said it intends to create a network of 3,200 satellites in low-Earth orbit. There are 80 planned launches to deploy the network, with an aggressive launch schedule that will mostly use ULA rockets. However, in order to fulfill the high demand for launches, Amazon will also use rockets from Arianespace, Blue Origin, and SpaceX.
“We’ve designed some of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, and every launch is an opportunity to add more capacity and coverage to our network,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper. “We’ve done extensive testing on the ground to prepare for this first mission, but there are some things you can only learn in flight.”
The launch today will involve a rocket lifting off from the pad in Cape Canaveral, then traveling to space and deploying the satellites. Once released from the rocket, the satellites need to move into their final orbit, which they do in an mostly autonomous process by firing their electric propulsion systems. Each satellite moves independently and also needs to achieve communications with the ground team.
The satellites will travel around the Earth at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour, making a complete orbit around every 90 minutes.
