Amazon switches rockets for first test satellites to avoid delay
WASHINGTON: Amazon.com Inc plans to launch its first pair of prototype internet satellite s late next month on a different rocket than previously planned, a spokesman said on Monday, again switch ing rides for the spacecraft to avoid mounting rocket delays. The company will launch the first two satellites for Amazon's Kuiper program, which aims to offer internet globally from space, aboard a dedicated Atlas V rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed, joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA), spokesman James Watkins said. The targeted launch date is Sept. 26, he said. Amazon last year announced plans to launch the satellite pair aboard the first flight of ULA's new Vulcan rocket, moving them off previously planned rockets from launch startup ABL Space to avoid delays in ABL's rocket development. But delays with Vulcan have prompted Amazon to again switch rides as the e-commerce giant faces a 2026 regulatory deadline to deploy half of the 3,200 satelli...