Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite-internet initiative designed to provide broadband access to regions that lack reliable connectivity. The new name “Leo” refers directly to low Earth orbit (LEO), the orbital regime where the constellation operates. The system will use a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites operating about 590–630 kilometers (366–391 miles) above Earth, supported by gateway ground stations and global fiber infrastructure. Its goal is to serve unserved and underserved populations, including individuals, schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies in remote or infrastructure-limited areas. Development began in 2018 and received FCC approval in 2020. The first two prototype satellites launched in October 2023, and Amazon has since deployed more than 150 operational satellites as part of early constellation build-out.

Amazon Leo is managed by Amazon’s Devices and Services division, with satellites manufactured in Kirkland, Washington, and launch integration handled at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Amazon has secured more than 80 launch missions with ULA, Arianespace, Blue Origin, and SpaceX. SpaceX, which operates Starlink, is one of Amazon Leo’s direct competitors in the satellite-internet market. FCC regulations require Amazon to place at least half of its constellation in orbit by July 2026 and complete deployment by July 2029. The satellites incorporate optical inter-satellite laser links to increase throughput and reduce latency.

To reach customers, Amazon Leo uses three categories of user terminals: the compact Leo Nano offering speeds around 100 Mbps; the mid-range Leo Pro supporting roughly 400 Mbps; and the enterprise-grade Leo Ultra, capable of up to 1 Gbps. Amazon plans limited service availability for select enterprise users by late 2025, expanding in 2026 as more satellites reach orbit. The spacecraft are designed with debris-mitigation and astronomical-impact-reduction measures, including controlled deorbiting procedures and brightness-management practices.

Courtesy of Amazon.

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