The United Launch Alliance is being prepared for its second release this year on another mission in Amazon’s efforts to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink Internet Constellation.
Atlas V Rocket is targeting 1:25pm on Monday at 1:25pm on Monday with the lift-off of the 27-year-old project Kuiper satellite of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41.
The Space Launch Delta 45 weather squadron predicts a 75% chance for good launch conditions, just as if a 24-hour delay occurs.
This is one of the 14 Atlas V rockets remaining in ULA’s stable, seven of which are reserved for Amazon. The company is about to get more than 3,200 project Kuiper Satellites on track by 2028.
The company has also purchased 38 additional launches at ULA’s new Vulcan Rocket, as well as missions on Blue Origin, Arianespace and even SpaceX. In total, Amazon has lined up more than 80 flights to try and play catch-up to SpaceX, which has launched nearly 9,000 Starlink satellites since 2019.
The satellite is manufactured in Washington, but Amazon will build a $120 million satellite processing facility on the nearly 80 acres of the former Kennedy Space Center shuttle landing facility, receiving preparations for the final launch, including fuel supply.
For now, ULA is the only company that has grown constellations, and the Vulcan has a large portion of its contract mission.
ULA has only flew two Vulcan rockets in 2024, but is hoping to fly it for the third time in July on the Space Force’s national security mission. ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said after that mission, Vulcan will fly its first Project Kuiper flight.
Amazon Missions then moves back and forth between Vulcan and the remaining six contracted Atlas V Rockets.
Vulcan Rockets has a larger capacity than the Atlas V and can carry 45 Project Kuiper satellites with each launch. Amazon aims to bring more than half of its planned constellations into orbit by July 2026 as part of the requirements presented by the Federal Communications Commission license.
To increase the cadence of launches, ULA is building a second vertically integrated facility in Cape Canaveral, allowing two rockets to be prepared at the same time. The goal is to increase the number of launches at least up to two moons on the Space Coast. It also has a boot function from California.
The ULA has had a total of five launches in 2024, including a heavy launch of the final Delta IV from Space Launch Complex 37. Under Space Force’s instructions, they prepared to destroy the launch tower of the SPLC-37 and build a new launch facility to support the spacecraft and ultra-heavy rockets under development.
SpaceX will continue to launch from the SLC-40 and Kennedy Space Center, while ULA will focus its Space Coast operations completely from the SLC-41.
ULA still has seven other Atlas V rockets reserved for other customers. One is for communications company Viasat and six are assigned to launches for Boeing Starliner, so the final flight of Atlas V may not arrive until 2030.
The ULA has a backlog of over 70 missions, including 24 for national security. The Vulcan rocket was only certified for launch this spring after years of development of the rocket.
Bruno says ULA hopes to bolster at least 24 releases a year by the end of 2026.
The company was founded in 2006 as a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin and was the leading launch provider for national security missions until SpaceX entered the competition. Most of the missions the company flew over a year was 16 years old in 2009.
