SpaceX
set to launch another 60 Starlink internet satellites
A view looking up the
stack of Starlink internet relay satellites before launch.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a thrice-flown first stage and a previously used
nose cone fairing is poised for blastoff Monday on a Veterans Day flight to
boost 60 Starlink internet relay satellites into orbit. It is the second batch
in a planned constellation of thousands intended to provide broadband service
around the world.
With an 80 percent chance of good weather expected, liftoff from pad 40 at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for 9:56 a.m. ET Monday.
In keeping with SpaceX's drive to lower costs by re-flying its rocket hardware,
the Falcon 9's first stage will be making a record fourth flight - following
two missions in 2018 and another earlier this year - to launch two large
communications satellites and a set of 10 Iridium satellite telephone relay
stations.
In another first, the nose cone protecting the Starlink satellites and their
deployer will make its second flight after an April launch atop a Falcon Heavy
rocket.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
with a thrice-flown first stage was erected on its Cape Canaveral launch pad
Sunday for blastoff Monday to boost 60 Starlink internet relay satellites into
orbit. SpaceX
For Monday's mission, the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love
You" will be stationed several hundred miles northeast of Cape Canaveral
to serve as a landing pad for the Falcon 9's first stage. Two other ships,
"Ms. Tree" and "Ms. Chief," will be standing by with large
nets to capture the two halves of the payload fairing as they descend under
parachutes.
The flight plan calls for the 60 solar-powered Starlink satellites, each
weighing 573 pounds, to be released into a 174-mile-high orbit about one hour
after launch. After tests and checkout, the satellites will be boosted into
their operational positions using on-board ion thrusters.
SpaceX has regulatory approval to launch nearly 12,000 Starlink relay stations
in dozens of orbital planes. With multiple satellites within line of sight from
any point on Earth's surface, the relay stations are designed to seamlessly
hand off internet traffic, using satellite-to-satellite "cross
links," to provide uninterrupted service.
Monday's launch, along with 60 satellites launched in May and another four
batches planned for the next year or so, will put about 360 satellites into
orbit, providing coverage over much of the United States and Canada in 2020.
Twenty four launches - more than 1,400 satellites - will be needed to provide
global coverage starting in 2021, but SpaceX plans to continue boosting the
total to provide additional bandwidth. The total number of satellites that
might ultimately end up in orbit is not yet known.
Astronomers raised concerns after the first Starlink launch in May, saying
sunlight reflecting off the satellites could interfere with sensitive
observations. SpaceX officials say they are taking steps to minimize
reflectivity and ensure problem-free observing.
Astronomy aside, the Starlink network is designed to provide
"high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity, ideally throughout the
world," SpaceX founder Elon Musk said earlier this year. "This would
provide connectivity to people that don't have any connectivity today or where
it's extremely expensive and unreliable."
The Starlink system will also serve "people who may have connectivity today
in developed areas of the world but it's very expensive," he added.
"This will provide a competitive option for them."
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