So, having dispensers like this one shown, what can one assume is the shape of the packaged sat?More or less a square or rectangular? The dispenser obviously looks more like what SX uses for its Transporter delivery system (mostly cubesats, or something similar in shape) than for its Starlink sats.I remember seeing the boxes the test kuipers came in, and they suggested more square or cube type vehicles.One wonders then why SX has migrated to flatpack; possibly because they are more easily handled and more can be carried within such a volume?
Beyond Gravity hands over first dispenser tier module to Amazon
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/19/2024 05:07 pmQuote from: Tory Bruno tweetYesterday I shared a flock of Centaur IIIs. Here’s a herd of Atlas’. #CrowdedFactoryInteresting reply tweets<snip>https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1792299526230802773QuoteCan you reveal when Atlas V launch Kuiper will use which length fairing?Quote from: Tory Bruno tweetWe use our long fairings for that mission.
Quote from: Tory Bruno tweetYesterday I shared a flock of Centaur IIIs. Here’s a herd of Atlas’. #CrowdedFactory
Yesterday I shared a flock of Centaur IIIs. Here’s a herd of Atlas’. #CrowdedFactory
Can you reveal when Atlas V launch Kuiper will use which length fairing?
We use our long fairings for that mission.
Amazon's launch of its first operational satellites will be "in the coming months," a spokesperson says
We expect to ship our first completed production satellites this summer, and we’re targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission for Q4 aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA.
Project Kuiper updateQuoteWe expect to ship our first completed production satellites this summer, and we’re targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission for Q4 aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA.
QuoteUnited Launch Alliance Successfully Launches 100th National Security MissionJuly 30, 2024[...]ULA’s next launch is the second certification flight (Cert-2) of the Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida [currently Sep 16]. Vulcan will also launch USSF-106 and USSF-87, two critical NSS missions, to orbit later this year.
United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches 100th National Security MissionJuly 30, 2024[...]ULA’s next launch is the second certification flight (Cert-2) of the Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida [currently Sep 16]. Vulcan will also launch USSF-106 and USSF-87, two critical NSS missions, to orbit later this year.
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1841557509133480088QuoteA couple notes from today's ULA Cert-2 briefing:- ULA still expects to launch USSF-106 and 87 missions (first national security Vulcan flights) this year, assuming Cert-2 goes well;- 20 launches next year, split half-and-half between Atlas and Vulcan;- first Atlas 5 Kuiper launch slips to early next year;- room in the manifest next year for Dream Chaser, but no date set yet.
A couple notes from today's ULA Cert-2 briefing:- ULA still expects to launch USSF-106 and 87 missions (first national security Vulcan flights) this year, assuming Cert-2 goes well;- 20 launches next year, split half-and-half between Atlas and Vulcan;- first Atlas 5 Kuiper launch slips to early next year;- room in the manifest next year for Dream Chaser, but no date set yet.
Hi Tory! When we launching the next bird?
Very soon
Atlas or Vulcan?
Atlas
Amazon@amazon🚨🛰 Project Kuiper update! Another batch of production satellites for our low Earth orbit internet constellation is on its way to Cape Canaveral, FL. These satellites, built to withstand the harsh conditions of space and the journey there, will be processed upon arrival to get them ready for launch.Before shipping these satellites, we put each one through a series of tests that include:💪 Performance testing in a vacuum chamber to replicate outer space🔊Vibration and acoustic testing to simulate rocket launch conditions🔃 Thermal heating and cooling cycles that simulate temperature changes the satellites will experience in spaceThese satellites will bring fast, reliable internet to customers even in remote areas. Stay tuned for our first launch this year.6:35 PM · Jan 24, 2025
How many satellites will be carried on the dispenser?
Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 01/31/2025 10:43 pmHow many satellites will be carried on the dispenser?Well, if they weight in at 700kg (my estimate), then 25-27. AFAIK the Atlas V can lift around 18,850kg to LEO.
Quote from: seb21051 on 02/02/2025 04:24 amQuote from: zubenelgenubi on 01/31/2025 10:43 pmHow many satellites will be carried on the dispenser?Well, if they weight in at 700kg (my estimate), then 25-27. AFAIK the Atlas V can lift around 18,850kg to LEO.Officially, 31 can be carried at a time on Atlas 551. - 35-40 can fly on Ariane 6- 45 on Vulcan- 61 on New Glenn.
https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/status/1887938076103852527QuoteNew: @ulalaunch is de-stacking its Vulcan rocket and is now aiming to launch an Atlas V rocket as its first mission of 2025. This will be the Kuiper-1 mission, the first launch of production satellites for @amazon's Project Kuiper internet constellation.Read more: https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/02/07/ula-begins-de-stacking-vulcan-rocket-pivots-to-atlas-5-launch-of-amazons-kuiper-satellites-for-first-2025-mission/📸: AmazonFrom ULA:Quote“The big thing with the [USSF-106] destack is it’s really demonstrating the flexibility that we’ll have going forward to be able to pivot from Atlas to Vulcan back and forth in Lane-G, the traditional government lane,”
New: @ulalaunch is de-stacking its Vulcan rocket and is now aiming to launch an Atlas V rocket as its first mission of 2025. This will be the Kuiper-1 mission, the first launch of production satellites for @amazon's Project Kuiper internet constellation.Read more: https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/02/07/ula-begins-de-stacking-vulcan-rocket-pivots-to-atlas-5-launch-of-amazons-kuiper-satellites-for-first-2025-mission/📸: Amazon
“The big thing with the [USSF-106] destack is it’s really demonstrating the flexibility that we’ll have going forward to be able to pivot from Atlas to Vulcan back and forth in Lane-G, the traditional government lane,”
Quote from: Robert_the_Doll on 02/05/2025 08:40 pmQuote from: seb21051 on 02/02/2025 04:24 amQuote from: zubenelgenubi on 01/31/2025 10:43 pmHow many satellites will be carried on the dispenser?Well, if they weight in at 700kg (my estimate), then 25-27. AFAIK the Atlas V can lift around 18,850kg to LEO.Officially, 31 can be carried at a time on Atlas 551. - 35-40 can fly on Ariane 6- 45 on Vulcan- 61 on New Glenn.I take that to be 35 on A64 and 40 on A64+.
During an interview with a few reporters in January 2024, Bruno said an Atlas 5 rocket is capable of launching 27 Kuiper satellites compared to 45 on Vulcan.Amazon hasn’t specified how many satellites it plans to launch on the Kuiper-1 mission. In late January [Jan 24], the company announced on social media that “another batch” of its production satellites was “on its way to Cape Canaveral.”
