CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, FL – A luscious liftoff performance by the most powerful United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket delivered the Kuiper 3 mission to LEO for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation – just past sunrise on Sept. 25.
The Atlas V 551 rocket liftoff from Space Launch Complex-41 took place right on time at 8:09 a.m. EDT (1209 UTC), on Sept. 25 for the Kuiper-3 mission delivering another batch of 27 operational Amazon Kuiper commercial comsats to orbit – thereby fortifying the growing Kuiper orbital constellation of broadband internet satellites.
The Kuiper 3 launch deployed then third batch of of 27 operational Project Kuiper satellites into low Earth orbit by ULA on the Atlas V – at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers).
After checkout they will be raised to their assigned orbit of 392 miles (630 km) altitude above Earth.
This sets up a new broadband internet system for direct head-to-head competition with the already well-established SpaceX Starlink satellite system – comprising over 8000 orbiting satellites in LEO.
“There are five remaining Kuiper missions on the Atlas V rocket, building up to 38 high-cadence, rapid fire launches on the next-generation Vulcan rocket,” said ULA.
Overall this brings the total number of Kuiper satellites launched by ULA to 81.
“ULA will deliver more than half of the Project Kuiper constellation’s 3,200 satellites, through the world’s largest commercial launch agreement.”
“This mission demonstrates the strong partnership between ULA and Amazon to accurately and rapidly launch and deliver innovation solutions for global connectivity.”
“We are proud to collaborate with Amazon and advance their mission to provide fast, reliable internet to communities around the world,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs.
“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.”
Enjoy our launch and prelaunch photos taken by the Space UpClose team of Ken Kremer and Jean Wright on the Cape media viewing site and at pad 41
More about ULA Atlas V Centaur
The Amazon-built Kuiper spacecraft are encapsulated in a 17.7-ft (5.4-m) diameter medium payload fairing (PLF).
The PLF is a sandwich composite structure made with a vented aluminum-honeycomb core and graphite-epoxy face sheets. The bisector (two-piece shell) PLF encapsulates both the Centaur and the satellites.
The Atlas V vehicle height with the 5-meter medium PLF is approximately 205 ft (62.5 m).
The Atlas V booster is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter and 106.5 ft (32.5 m) in length. The booster’s tanks are structurally rigid and constructed of isogrid aluminum barrels, spun-formed aluminum domes and intertank skirts.
Booster propulsion is provided by the RD-180 engine system (a single engine with two thrust chambers). The RD-180 burns RP-1 (Rocket Propellant-1 or highly purified kerosene) and liquid oxygen and delivers 860,200 lbs (3.83 mega-Newtons) of thrust at sea level. Five solid rocket boosters (SRBs) generate the additional power required at liftoff, with each providing 371,550 lbs (1.6 mega-Newtons) of thrust.
The Centaur avionics system, provides guidance, flight control and vehicle sequencing functions during the booster and Centaur phases of flight.
The Centaur second stage is 10 ft (3 m) in diameter and 41.5 ft (12.6 m) in length. Its propellant tanks are pressure-stabilized and constructed of corrosion-resistant stainless steel.
Centaur is a cryogenic vehicle, fueled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, powered by an RL10A-4-2 engine producing 22,600 lbs (100.5 kilo-Newtons) of thrust. The cryogenic tanks are insulated with a combination of helium-purged blankets, radiation shields and spray-on foam insulation (SOFI). The Centaur forward adapter (CFA) provides structural mountings for the fault-tolerant avionics system and structural and electrical interfaces with the spacecraft.
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Jean Wright and Ken Kremer of Space UpClose reporting about ULA Atlas V Kuiper-3 mission launch. Credit: Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com
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