Amazon's Kuiper Project Satellite Canceled Due To Weather Issues

Atlas V carrying the Kuiper Project satellite (photo: dock. ULA)

JAKARTA The United Launch Alliance (ULA) was supposed to launch dozens of Amazon satellites on April 10. Unfortunately, the launch had to be stopped and postponed to another day due to the weather that had not improved.

The Kuiper Project satellite launch window has been open since 05.32 WIB and countdown has been carried out. If there is no weather problem, ULA should have taken 27 satellites into orbit using an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

From the report that ULA continues to share on X, formerly known as Twitter, the company seems optimistic about the unobstructed launch. Even though the clouds were seen covering the sky, ULA continued to monitor weather conditions during the two hours of the launch window.

In fact, when the launch window was over and the wind and clouds still looked bad, ULA was still maintaining its launch schedule. The company was seen extending time five times in order to launch the Project Kuiper satellite on April 10.

ULA had said that, "Cumulus clouds disrupted the eastern part of the 10-mile ring around the launch site. The wind also remains high above the safe takeoff limit." After several hours of waiting, ULA finally gave up.

ULA Launch Director Eric Richards said that the Atlas V countdown operation carrying the Kuiper Project had to be stopped. According to him, the weather is increasingly impossible and ULA will certainly not launch its rocket.

"The launch of the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket carrying the Kuiper 1 mission for Amazon's Kuiper Project was canceled today due to bad weather. The launch date will only be announced after it is approved in the field," ULA said in its final statement.