| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Science & Technology | |
| Giant [Amazon] Rocket | |
| 2025-04-29 | |
| [Weatherboy] A giant rocket is scheduled to be launched along the U.S. East Coast this evening, providing residents from Florida to New England with the opportunity of seeing an Amazon mission unfold with the naked eye. United Launch Alliance (ULA) is scheduled to lift-off their Atlas 5 rocket with a batch of 27 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellites. These are the first production satellites that will make up Amazon’s satellite internet megaconstellation which will ultimately include 3,236 satellites. Amazon hopes to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-based internet service with these new rockets. The launch is scheduled to occur at or after 7 pm this evening from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the central coast of Florida. After lift-off, the rocket will travel north and east along the U.S. East Coast, giving those looking off into the eastern sky the opportunity to see the rocket accelerate into space. The launch window is set from 7-9 pm, which means the rocket can launch at any time within that window. ULA is flying its Atlas 5 in the 551 configuration, which features five solid rocket boosters and a medium-length payload fairing. ULA had initially tried to launch its rocket on April 9 but that attempt was scrubbed due to poor weather. As the rocket heads north and east off the Florida coast, boosters will be jettisoned from the rocket, giving those along the southeast coast an interesting view. The rocket will be without boosters by the time it passes off the North Carolina coast, but even those in the Mid Atlantic and southeastern New England would be able to see the rocket with high pressure there providing for good viewing conditions. Kuiper Systems LLC, also known as Project Kuiper, is a subsidiary of Amazon that was established in 2019 to deploy a large satellite internet constellation to provide low-latency broadband connectivity. The name Kuiper was a company codename for the project inspired by the Kuiper belt. The Kuiper Belt is a region beyond Neptune’s orbit, filled with icy bodies, dwarf planets, and other small objects. It’s considered a remnant of the solar system’s formation and is thought to be a source of comets. The Kuiper Belt is roughly shaped like a disk or doughnut, with its inner edge starting at Neptune’s orbit and extending outward. Amazon’s $10 billion plans to establish this internet network includes 80 launches like today’s. Establishing the internet constellation will require a series of rocket launches to get the satellites into space, but this initiative is separate from Amazon founder JeffBezos’ Blue Origin spaceflight company.
[FoxBusinessNews] Amazon's Project Kuiper looking to rival Elon Musk's Starlink | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |