The mission deployed another batch of satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of Amazon’s plan to build a 3,200-strong constellation to deliver affordable, high-speed internet to underserved communities worldwide.
Gary Wentz, ULA’s vice president of government and commercial programs, said the launch demonstrated the strength of the partnership between the launch provider and Amazon.
“We are proud to collaborate with Amazon and advance their mission to provide fast, reliable internet to communities around the world,” Wentz said.
“Our mission is to launch critical payloads for our customers and serve as the catalyst to help Amazon build this global broadband constellation, aligning us with one of our core missions of connecting the world.”
The Kuiper 3 flight is one of nine Kuiper missions contracted on ULA’s Atlas V, with five launches remaining. From there, the program will transition to 38 rapid-cadence launches on ULA’s next-generation Vulcan rocket. In total, ULA will deliver more than half of the Project Kuiper constellation under what is described as the largest commercial launch agreement in history.
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s answer to rival satellite internet systems such as SpaceX’s Starlink, which already operates more than 6,000 satellites and has begun offering global services, including to remote regions of Australia. By contrast, Amazon’s constellation is still in its build-up phase, with launches ramping up in 2025 and 2026.
ULA’s next scheduled mission is the launch of ViaSat-3, also from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex-41.