ULA launches 27 Project Kuiper satellites on Sept. 25. Photo: ULA

Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation reaches 129 satellites after United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched another batch on Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was Kuiper’s fifth launch overall, and the third mission with ULA on an Atlas V rocket. 

Amazon confirmed post-launch the mission was successful. The launch deployed 27 Kuiper satellites to an altitude of 465 kilometers, and they will orbit-raise to their final altitude. 

ULA noted there are just five remaining Kuiper missions on the Atlas V rocket, and the launch provider is preparing for 38 Kuiper launches on the Vulcan rocket. ULA’s next launch is ViaSat-3.

The full constellation is planned to have 3,232-satellites, and Amazon faces an FCC deadline to have half of the constellation launched by July 2026.

Earlier this month, Kuiper secured its first win in the in-flight connectivity (IFC) market with JetBlue planning to roll out Project Kuiper’s technology on a portion of its fleet in 2027.