Project Kuiper is set to send its first full batch of satellites to space, marking an important step in its mission to deliver fast, reliable internet to customers and communities around the world. The mission, named “KA-01” for Kuiper Atlas 1, will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and deploy 27 satellites at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth. Launch is currently scheduled for no earlier than (NET) 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 9.

Project Kuiper is designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to virtually any location on the planet, with service expected to begin later this year. The first-generation satellite system will consist of more than 3,200 advanced low Earth orbit satellites, with over 80 launches secured to deploy the initial constellation. Each launch will add dozens of satellites to the network, and the KA-01 mission marks the first step in this process.

The satellites flying on KA-01 are a significant upgrade from the two prototype satellites tested during the Protoflight mission in October 2023. Performance improvements have been made across all systems and subsystems, including phased array antennas, processors, solar arrays, propulsion systems, and optical inter-satellite links. Additionally, the satellites are coated in a unique dielectric mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight, reducing their visibility to ground-based astronomers.

Project Kuiper’s satellite payload will be the heaviest ever flown on ULA’s Atlas V rocket. To accommodate it, Atlas V will launch in its most powerful configuration, featuring five solid rocket boosters alongside its main booster and a payload fairing measuring 77 feet (23.5 meters) in height and 16.4 feet (5 meters) in width.

Over the next few years, Kuiper and ULA will conduct seven more Atlas V launches and 38 launches on ULA’s larger Vulcan Centaur rocket. More than 30 additional launches are planned with other providers, including Arianespace, Blue Origin, and SpaceX.

Launch is only the first step in the months-long KA-01 mission. ULA will manage the launch and deployment sequence from its Advanced Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Once all satellites have separated from the rocket, the Kuiper team will take over constellation management from its 24/7 mission operations center in Redmond, Washington.

The primary objective of the KA-01 mission is to deploy all satellites safely into orbit, allowing them to independently maneuver and communicate with the ground team. After separation, the satellites will initiate a series of mostly automated steps to activate onboard systems and use their electric propulsion systems to gradually ascend to their assigned orbit of 392 miles (630 km). They will travel at speeds exceeding 17,000 miles per hour (27,359 km per hour) and complete an orbit approximately every 90 minutes.

While the satellites complete the orbit-raising process, the focus will shift to the ultimate mission objective: establishing end-to-end network connectivity. This involves transmitting data from the internet through ground infrastructure, up to the satellites, and down to customer terminal antennas, with data flowing in both directions.

Following KA-01, Project Kuiper will continue increasing production, processing, and deployment rates in preparation for delivering service to customers. Satellites for the next mission, KA-02, are already being shipped and processed. KA-02 will also launch aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Courtesy of Amazon and ULA.

The Atlas V is the workhorse of United Launch Alliance's rocket fleet, combining Russian and American technology. It utilizes the Russian RD-180 engine on its first stage and is known for its versatility, offering 20 possible configurations—though only 10 have flown. Developed in the mid-to-late 1990s, the Atlas V is the fifth and final iteration of the veteran Atlas rocket family, which began its service in 1957. Lockheed Martin designed and built the Atlas V as part of the U.S. government's 1994 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, aimed at supporting national security missions. The merger of Lockheed Martin's Atlas V and Boeing's Delta IV in 2006 created United Launch Alliance (ULA), which dominated the U.S. government launch market for over a decade.

Specs

Height: Up to 58.3 m (191 ft)

Diameter: 3.81 m (12.5 ft)

Mass: 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)

Stages: 2

The Atlas V's price has fluctuated significantly over the years. For example, a basic Atlas V 401 (featuring no boosters and a single-engine Centaur second stage) cost anywhere from the high-$90 million range to $163 million in the 2000s and early 2010s. However, with the rise of SpaceX as a competitor in the 2010s, significant price reductions followed. Although it is not the cheapest rocket on the market, the Atlas V has maintained an unmatched success rate, achieving a 100% mission success record. It is being phased out in favor of the Vulcan rocket, with full replacement expected by the late 2020s.

The Atlas V 551 variant features a five-meter payload fairing (5), five side-mounted solid rocket boosters (5), and a single-engine Centaur upper stage (1). One of its most notable missions occurred in January 2006, when it launched the New Horizons probe on its journey to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

Photo courtesy of ULA.

Space Launch Complex-41 is the east-coast home of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. The pad hosted its first launch on December 21, 1965, and is currently being upgraded to support ULA's Vulcan rocket, with its first launch scheduled for no earlier than 2022. For several years, Vulcan and Atlas V will share the pad before Atlas V is retired.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, SLC-41 was used for the U.S. Air Force’s Titan III and Titan IV rockets. Over the years, it has served as the launch site for numerous significant missions, including the Helios probes to study the Sun, the Viking missions to Mars, the Voyager interstellar probes, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, New Horizons to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, and Juno to Jupiter.

The pad was also used to launch humans aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule, with the inaugural crewed mission occurring in June 2024.

Located on Florida’s east coast, Cape Canaveral is ideally situated to offer access to a wide variety of space destinations while launching over the open Atlantic Ocean, ensuring safety by avoiding populated areas on the ground. The Cape currently supports launches from four different rocket families: Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon 9, and Minotaur. Additionally, launches of Vulcan from ULA and New Glenn from Blue Origin are scheduled to begin no earlier than 2024.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center, located on neighboring Merritt Island, and Cape Canaveral are often confused or referred to as a single location, but they are distinct government installations. Together, they are united under the name of a single operational area known as the Eastern Range for launch operations.

Over the years, the spaceport has been known by several names: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (1949-1963), Cape Kennedy Air Force Station (1963-1973), Cape Canaveral Air Force Station again (1973-2020), and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (2020-present).

Credit: ULA