You can watch it live here at Space.com courtesy of ULA, or directly via the company<\/a>. Coverage will begin at around midnight EDT (0400 GMT).<\/p>\n \n A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Florida\u2019s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 29, 2026 carrying 29 satellites for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation. (Image credit: United Launch Alliance)<\/p>\n Amazon Leo is the company’s broadband megaconstellation in low Earth orbit<\/a> (hence the name), which will eventually consist of about 3,200 satellites. It will compete with SpaceX’s Starlink<\/a> network, which has nearly 11,000 satellites at present and is growing all the time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About 370 Amazon Leo craft have reached orbit on a total of 14 missions to date, atop three different rockets \u2014 the Atlas V, SpaceX’s Falcon 9<\/a> and Arianespace’s Ariane 6<\/a>.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n The Atlas V has been the most active of this trio, conducting 8 of the liftoffs for the megaconstellation, which was originally known as Project Kuiper. (The first of those Atlas V launches lofted two prototype satellites, not operational craft, which explains why Thursday’s mission is called Amazon Leo 8 rather than Amazon Leo 9.)<\/p>\n The Atlas V flying on Amazon Leo 8 is the 551, the most powerful variant of the rocket. The numbers mean that it sports five solid rocket boosters, a 5-meter-wide (16.5 feet) payload fairing and a Centaur upper stage with a single engine.<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TRDGn92Lq42gjeTDHz5PHA.jpg\")
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