A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket failed to deliver 40 Amazon Leo broadband satellites into low Earth orbit after suffering an in-flight anomaly roughly 10 minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The heavy-lift vehicle lifted off at 12:40 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 41, clearing the launch tower before experiencing the malfunction during its return-to-flight mission, according to United Launch Alliance.
Power Failure And Grounding History
Based on data received by our Launch Director, we confirm that the Vulcan vehicle launched from Space Launch Complex 41 suffered an anomaly 10 minutes into the flight and failed to deliver the Amazon mission to orbit. Every flight generates data, and every flight teaches us…
The flight marked the fifth overall mission for the Vulcan rocket and its first since a February grounding tied to solid rocket booster nozzle issues. The launch originally faced a 24-hour delay due to a power interruption at the fuel-pumping facility and a network communication issue between ground equipment and the launch vehicle.
Outfitted with six solid rocket boosters in its most powerful configuration, the rocket produced nearly 3.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff while carrying the heaviest payload in ULA history at nearly 53,000 pounds.
United Launch Alliance ended the webcast of its return to flight Vulcan mission, carrying Amazon LEO satellites, early and before payload deploy. Not a great sign, but we don't know what happened yet.https://t.co/g5ES2ZdRqr
Before the flight, the rocket sat on the pad awaiting its assignment, representing the first mission in a series of planned flights for Amazon Leo.
Teammates representing United Launch Alliance, Amazon, the U.S. Space Force, and the FAA had gathered for the Vulcan Leo 1 Launch Readiness Review to clear the vehicle for liftoff. The vehicle itself is the successor to ULA’s Atlas V rocket, which had previously filled the launch provider’s role while Vulcan was grounded.
During the months when Vulcan was grounded, ULA exhausted all but six of its Atlas V rockets. Meanwhile, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, which was also expected to help carry Amazon Leo satellites to orbit, faced delays after an explosion at Launch Complex 36 damaged the pad, pushing its return to flight no earlier than 2027.
Payload And Constellation Stakes
The mission was the first of 38 planned flights contracted by Amazon to build out its initial constellation of more than 3,200 broadband satellites in low Earth orbit, a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink service. Prior to the flight, Amazon had deployed 398 satellites through a mix of Atlas V, Falcon 9, and Ariane 6 rockets.
Amazon has constructed a manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Washington, capable of building five satellites per day, and completed the manufacture of its 1,000th Amazon Leo satellite in September. The entire network is designed to comprise over 3,200 satellites operating in low Earth orbit.
Following the failure, company officials acknowledged they lacked immediate technical details regarding the root cause.
“Since the anomaly just occurred, we don’t have any specific data yet to understand what occurred today,” ULA said in a statement.
“The team at @NASA is available to assist in all matters related to the investigation and remediation effort,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said via social media.
“Today, we did not meet that standard,” ULA said, referring to its benchmark for mission success.
Earlier coverage: SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit Despite Booster Explosion