Amazon’s Kuiper Satellites Reach Orbit in SpaceX Challenge

Amazon.com Inc.’s first batch of production satellites reached low-Earth orbit, the biggest step to date in the company’s effort to establish a business broadcasting internet connectivity from space.

The first 27 satellites to roll off Amazon’s assembly line, riding on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, lifted off on Monday at about 7:01 p.m. local time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Hours later, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said in a social media post that the satellites were “operating as expected in low Earth orbit.”