spacetoday.net: Amazon purchases nine Atlas 5 launches

Amazon purchases nine Atlas 5 launches

Posted: Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:54 PM ET (2154 GMT)
Amazon purchased nine Atlas 5 vehicles from United Launch Alliance for deploying part of its broadband internet constellation. The launches will be used for placing an unspecified number of satellites into orbit for the Project Kuiper system. The companies also did not disclose a schedule for the launches, but Amazon has a requirement to place half of its authorized 3,236 satellites into orbit by July 2026, with the full system in orbit three years later. Many expected Amazon to turn to Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, to launch its constellation, but Amazon officials previously said they were launch vehicle agnostic and expected to use multiple providers.