The next United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V launch has plenty of similarities to its previous flight but is no less significant. The Kuiper 2 mission, scheduled for June 16, will mark another step for Amazon's Project Kuiper to deploy an advanced broadband constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). 

Liftoff is scheduled during a launch window opening at 1:25 p.m. EDT (1725 UTC). ULA will provide play-by-play status reports from launch control beginning at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 UTC) and a live webcast starting at L-20 minutes.

Ascending from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the Atlas V rocket will immediately execute pitch, yaw and roll maneuvers to align with a northeasterly heading for its 18-minute climb into a 51.9-degree, 280-mile-high (450 km) orbit. 

Like the successful Atlas V Kuiper 1 mission on April 28, which delivered Amazon's first operational spacecraft into LEO, the upcoming Kuiper 2 mission will launch another batch of 27 satellites into space. 

Launch preparations began May 22 at the ULA Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) by starting the assembly of rocket elements. The encapsulated Kuiper 2 payload was hoisted atop the rocket on June 5, marking one of the quickest integrations of the top-of-the-line Atlas V 551 launch vehicle.

The same Atlas V rocket configuration will be used as the inaugural Kuiper mission — with five side-mounted GEM 63 solid rocket boosters (SRBs), a 17.7-foot-diameter (5.4m) composite payload fairing and single RL10A-4-2 upper stage engine. 

Atlas V stands 205 feet (62.5 m) tall, will weigh 1.3 million pounds (589,000 kg) once fueled for launch and lifts off on a combined thrust of 2.7 million pounds (12 megaNewtons) from its main engine and five SRBs.

The Kuiper payloads are the heaviest ever carried by an Atlas rocket at a total of 34,000 pounds (15,400 kg). The satellites ride into space attached to a special dispensing tower and release at predetermined intervals, representing the most separation events ever performed in a single Atlas launch.

Amazon is partnering with ULA to launch a majority of the Kuiper constellation using a total of eight Atlas V and 38 Vulcan rockets under the largest commercial launch services agreement in industry history. 

Project Kuiper is built around an initial constellation of more than 3,200 advanced LEO satellites. Its mission is to provide fast, reliable internet to customers and communities around the world, including those unserved or underserved by traditional connectivity technologies. The system has the capacity, performance, and flexibility to serve a wide range of customers, from individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies and other organizations operating in places without reliable connectivity. 


Learn more about the Atlas V Kuiper 2 launch
See our Kuiper 2 photo album