CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, FL – The final launch for the mightiest version of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket nicknamed ‘The Bruiser’ – went off without a hitch from Florida’s Space Coast just past midnight early Thursday morning July 2 carrying another batch of satellites for Amazons Leo operational broadband constellation of commercial internet comsats to orbit.
The launch is named ULA Atlas V Leo 8 – also referred to by Amazon Leo Atlas 8 (LA-08).
Liftoff took as planned with just a slight delay on Thursday, July 2, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430:15 UTC).
The rocket flew on a northeasterly trajectory up the US East Coast – as its roared off pad 41 on about 2.5 millions pounds of first stage thrust from the combined solid and liquid fueled engines
The nosecone was packed with a heavy payload of 29 Amazon Leo broadband internet satellites
Enjoy our launch and prelaunch photos taken by Ken Kremer and Jean Wright for Space UpClose directly at pad 41 and on base at the CCSFS viewing site.
My photo of the ULA Atlas V Leo 8 launch was featured on the WFTV ABC News Orlando evening news program on July 2 and is the lead screenshot photo in this story
Overall the ULA Atlas V has launched 224 of the 396 Amazon Leo satellites to orbit to date
“Atlas 5 has played a critical role in the early deployment phase for Amazon Leo, launching 224 satellites with a 100 percent success rate across all eight missions, and we’re excited to build on that foundation with ULA as we transition to Vulcan,” said Melissa Wuerl, Amazon Leo Director of Launch Systems, in a statement.
“With hundreds of flight-ready satellites standing by at the Cape and a new, dedicated vertical integration facility ready to support Leo Vulcan 1 and subsequent missions, we have a clear path to increase launch and deployment cadence, helping us quickly expand network coverage following an initial service rollout later this year.”
The 205 ft tall (62.5 m) ULA Atlas V rocket was assembled into the 551 configuration standing vertical at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station – during our prelaunch visit to set up remote cameras for this historic final flight of the 551.
Overall this brings the total of operational Amazon Leo broadband satellites launched to 396
“ULA has been a trusted launch partner since the beginning of the Amazon Leo program,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Atlas and Vulcan programs. “Each launch advances Amazon’s vision for worldwide connectivity, and we’re proud to help build the backbone of their commercial architecture.”
“With this launch, ULA has delivered a total of 224 of the 375+ satellites for Amazon Leo strengthening the foundation of the constellation as it moves closer to commercial operation.”
“Atlas V has played a critical role in the early deployment phase for Amazon Leo, launching 224 satellites with a 100% success rate across all eight missions, and we’re excited to build on that foundation with ULA as we transition to Vulcan,” said Melissa Wuerl, Amazon Leo Director of Launch Systems.
“With hundreds of flight-ready satellites standing by at the Cape and a new, dedicated vertical integration facility ready to support Leo Vulcan 1 and subsequent missions, we have a clear path to increase launch and deployment cadence, helping us quickly expand network coverage following an initial service rollout later this year.”
Overall, the payload weighs 18000 lbs, matching the heaviest to date for an Atlas V
This marks the 110th Atlas 5 rocket launched to date since its debut in 2002.
Amazon aims for an initial constellation of over 3200 satellites to compete with SpaceX Starlink
This was the final Amazon Leo mission on the Atlas V rocket and the last in the most powerful 551 configuration .
The remaining 6 Atlas Vs are dedicated to Boeing Starliner missions.
They will fly in the N22 configuration at some point TBD since Starliner still has not been reapproved for flight either with cargo or crew
Overall this brings the total of Amazon Leo broadband satellites launched to 396
The LEO satellites are manufactured in Kirkland, Washington, then flown to an Amazon satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Amazon is using a variety of launch providers to send Leo to orbit. In addition to ULA this includes Arianespace Ariane 6 and SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets and at some point New Glenn in the future
This sets up a new broadband internet system for direct head-to-head competition with the already well-established SpaceX Starlink satellite system – comprising some 10000 orbiting satellites in LEO.
ULA launches the Leo sats to an altitude of approx. 290 miles (465 kilometers)
After checkout they will be raised to their assigned orbit of 392 miles (630 km) altitude above Earth with onboard ion propulsion
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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