Amazon Launches Another 27 Kuiper Satellites To Space To Take On Elon Musk’s Starlink

A United Launch Alliance rocket launched more of Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) Kuiper satellites to space on Monday as the online retailer seeks to rival SpaceX’s Starlink in the satellite internet segment.

ULA’s Atlas V rocket carrying the Kuiper 2 mission lifted off on June 23 at 6:54 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission involved 27 Kuiper satellites, which were deployed at an altitude of 280 miles above Earth.

Fifty-four satellites have been launched to date.

The Monday launch was previously scheduled for June 16 but was delayed owing to an engine issue with the rocket.

The launch deployed the second batch of operational Kuiper satellites into the intended orbit. The first batch was launched in late April, also aboard the Atlas V rocket.

The company intends to launch six more Kuiper missions on the Atlas V rocket and 38 launches on ULA’s next-generation Vulcan rocket.

ULA will deliver more than half of the Kuiper constellation’s 3,200 satellites to space as part of the agreement between the launch provider and Amazon.

Amazon’s project Kuiper will rival SpaceX’s Starlink, which is currently leading the satellite internet segment. SpaceX has launched over 9,000 Starlink satellites into space so far.

Despite the rivalry between the two companies, Amazon has also booked launches with SpaceX to deploy some of its Kuiper satellites.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AMZN is currently in the bearish territory.

AMZN stock is down 5% this year but up nearly 13% over the past 12 months.

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