Two Launches, Two Companies, One Impressive Night

April 29, 2025 – Foreshadowing the future, two rockets lifted a combined 50 broadband satellites for two rival space-based internet companies into low-Earth orbit Monday, April 28, from Florida’s Space Coast — and both rockets launched within a 3½-hour span.

The commercial and residential area of Merritt Island is just south of the launch pads and viewers were given a unique opportunity to see some spectacular views.

The landmark evening saw a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket deploy Amazon’s first production batch of 27 Project Kuiper broadband satellites. The mission was the first of dozens in the coming years to create a 3,232-satellite constellation to provide high-speed internet around the world. The Atlas V lifted off at 7:01 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Afterward, at 10:34 p.m., SpaceX’s sprawling Starlink constellation — the undisputed global satellite internet leader — added 23 more satellites via a Falcon 9 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.