SpaceX is getting ready for a launch that will happen tomorrow. The space agency founded by Elon Musk is preparing to launch 48 of its flagship Starlink satellites. This news comes only five days after SpaceX successfully launched a batch of 47 satellites.
According to the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, there is an 80% likelihood that the weather will be suitable for a launch on Wednesday.
You can watch it all unfold live here at Science Times (video embedded below), courtesy of SpaceX's YouTube account, or directly on the company's website. About 15 minutes prior to liftoff, coverage will commence.
Teslarati said Wednesday's launch is the tenth SpaceX launch of 2022 and the fourth Starlink liftoff in 16 days.
The US satellite SpaceX Starlink 5 is seen in the night passing in the sky above Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark, on April 21, 2020. - SpaceX is scheduled to launch Falcon 9 for the 7th mission of the constellation of networked satellites known as Starlink, on April 22, 2020 at 3:37 PM EST from the NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US.
SpaceX Starlink to Add More Satellites Via Falcon 9
SpaceX's Starlink project aims to give us the Internet from space. So far, they have launched 147 satellites into low orbit above Earth, out of a total of almost 12,000 planned spacecraft. Elon Musk announced the launch on Wednesday through his official Twitter account.
The launch will take place at SLC-40 in Florida, using a Falcon 9. Falcon is a two-stage rocket developed by SpaceX for the safe and dependable transportation of satellites.
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Space.com said SpaceX would launch and land the Falcon 9 for the fourth time. In April 2019, the booster launched the Arabsat-6A mission, in June 2019, the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) flight for the US military, and in January 2022, the Italian Earth-observation satellite COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2.
Mashable also noted that Falcon 9 made history in 2012 by delivering Dragon into the proper orbit for rendezvous with the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first private corporation to visit the station.
How Starlink Works
Starlink is a constellation of satellites that delivers high-speed internet connectivity. Digital Trends said SpaceX's objective with this new service is to give high-speed, low-latency broadband internet connections to previously underserved portions of the earth, such as rural areas, while also theoretically offering more competitive pricing in metropolitan areas.
If you've ever used satellite internet, you're probably aware of how it may create latency or buffering, making activities like gaming or video conferencing problematic. The SpaceX Starlink satellites operate at a lower orbit than prior satellites to address the said difficulties, resulting in faster speeds and lower latency connection. However, the consistency isn't as excellent as cable internet.
Because the satellites are so close to Earth, they don't cover the same amount of ground. That's why the corporation has to launch so many of these little satellites, or "smallsats," as they're known.
The business has created gateways around the world to let satellites interact. Still, they're presently experimenting with laser technology to allow the satellites to communicate directly without the use of a gateway.
This implies that after Starlink customers install the Starlink kit, the antenna will automatically identify and connect to the closest satellite. Because the satellites' orbit is in a chain, each one will eventually discover the one before it, resulting in a smooth connection for the user.
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