SpaceX Blasts Off 60 Starlink Internet Satellites Into Space Via Falcon 9
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has again launched a batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Recently on May 30, SpaceX sent two astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to space via a Falcon 9 rocket.
As mentioned by TechCrunch, Falcon 9 has been successfully recovered from four space missions previously, and it is the fifth successful mission of the rocket.
The Starlink satellites are part of the broadband internet service to be started by SpaceX that will provide high-speed internet all over the globe. These Starlink satellites will also provide reliable internet connectivity in rural and underserved areas.
A visor system has been attached to one of the Starlink satellites that prevents its communication antenna surfaces from reflecting the sunlight towards the earth. This is done after scientists expressed concerns that excessive light reflected by the satellites would ruin the night sky and also hinder scientific research.
If this experiment by SpaceX becomes successful, then in the future, all the Starlink satellites will be launched with the visor system.
SpaceX has an aim to create a constellation of 800 Starlink satellites to establish moderate internet connectivity. However, it needs around 400 satellites in orbit to start the service in selected parts of the globe.
The company achieved 50% of its goal to start the high-speed internet by launching 60 Starlink internet satellites on January 30. After this launch, SpaceX had the largest constellation of around 240 satellites in orbit.
As of now, SpaceX has a constellation of more than 480 satellites, and so the service could kickstart soon. As it was previously clear, the service will be first launched in the United States and Canada. It will witness a global rollout after SpaceX achieves its 800 satellite constellation goal.
