LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan rocket lifted off on Sunday on its first mission for Amazon Leo but suffered an anomaly about 10 minutes into the flight, failing to deliver 40 broadband satellites into low Earth orbit, the company said.
The heavy-lift rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:40 p.m. Eastern Time, marking the first Vulcan mission for Amazon's satellite internet network.
ULA said its launch director confirmed the anomaly based on data received from the launch vehicle, adding that the company did not yet have specific information about what had happened.
"Today, we did not meet that standard," ULA said in a release, referring to its commitment to mission success.
The company said it would work closely with its customer and other appropriate organizations to determine the cause of the anomaly, identify appropriate corrective actions and return to flight as quickly as possible.
The mission was the first of 38 Vulcan launches contracted by Amazon to deploy more than 1,500 first-generation Leo satellites. Amazon plans to build a constellation of more than 3,000 low Earth orbit satellites to provide fast, reliable internet service worldwide.
The launch also marked Vulcan's return to flight after the rocket had been grounded for about nine months following an anomaly involving a solid rocket booster during a mission in February. ■