Ula Launches 29 Amazon Leo Satellites on Atlas 5
United Launch Alliance’s ula launch is set to send 29 Amazon Leo broadband internet satellites into orbit on an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Friday evening. The mission, called Amazon Leo 7 by ULA and Leo Atlas 07 by Amazon, is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at 7:33:30 p.m. EDT.
The countdown began at 12:13:30 p.m. EDT on Friday at T-minus 6 hours, 20 minutes, with two planned 30-minute holds built into the sequence. ULA says the rocket will fly on a north-easterly trajectory after leaving the pad.
Atlas 5 at Space Launch Complex 41
The rocket flying Friday is AV-113, the 109th Atlas 5 launch and the 22nd in the 551 configuration. That version uses five solid rocket boosters. Spaceflight Now said it would carry live coverage beginning about an hour before liftoff.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 30 percent chance for acceptable weather conditions during the launch window. Launch weather officers also said there was a high likelihood of weather violations on both the primary and backup launch days.
Amazon Leo 7 and LA-07
This is the seventh batch of production satellites ULA will launch for Amazon and the penultimate Atlas 5 mission in Amazon’s launch plan. Amazon bought 47 launches from ULA, including 38 Vulcan rockets and nine Atlas 5 rockets, to build a first-generation constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit.
After the LA-07 mission flies, Amazon Leo will have just one Atlas 5 rocket left. Amazon had about 300 satellites in orbit as of Friday afternoon, while the Federal Communications Commission requires the company to have half its constellation operating by the end of July 2026.
Amazon's launch plan
Amazon had been counting on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets starting as soon as June 4, but the May 28 explosion changed that path. Amazon Leo said Friday afternoon that its satellites were at the company’s payload processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and were not harmed. ULA said its launch pad infrastructure was not affected.
The Vulcan rocket remains grounded after the USSF-87 mission in February suffered an SRB nozzle burn through, leaving Amazon with fewer near-term launch options. Friday’s Atlas 5 mission keeps the company’s satellite buildup moving while the rest of its launch plan is still under pressure.
