When SpaceX created the Starlink mission, it aims to provide Internet to the world that can reach far-flung areas with faster speed and accessible at an affordable price. The company was successful with its first launch of 60 satellites last May, and another 60 satellites were launched this Monday, Nov. 11.
FIRST OPERATIONAL SET
The new batch of satellites was carried into orbit by the company's Falcon 9 rocket, which took off at 2:56 PM from Cape Canaveral, Florida. By the time the rocket reached 280 kilometers in altitude, it had deployed the satellites. This is the second batch of a satellite network that the company launched this year, but this is the first operational set. SpaceX aims to install a network of 12,000 satellites to bring high-speed Internet to the rural parts of the planet.
According to an article written by Space News, even though SpaceX had originally planned to deploy 12,000 satellites, the company has already sent an application to the International Telecommunications Union to deploy 30,000 more.
The Starlink satellites were launched via a veteran Falcon 9 rocket (after three months of not being in use) marking its fourth flight, and the first time a Falcon 9 rocket has flown more than three times. During the launch commentary, SpaceX Starlink engineer Lauren Lyons explains, "The Falcon has landed for the fourth time, these boosters are designed to be used ten times. Let's turn it around for a fifth, guys."
The rocket has successfully landed on SpaceX's dome landing ship stationed at the Atlantic Ocean.
INTERNET BREAKTHROUGH
Nowadays, Internet users mostly rely on wireless cell towers or routers, and although the satellite-based Internet exists, it can be very expensive. This is what SpaceX aims to challenge. In a media conference during the first Starlink launch, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explains, "This will not only provide internet access to areas that don't have it, but provide competitive access to areas that already have connectivity,"
Usually, what happens is, with traditional satellite Internet providers, they send coverage down from a high orbital area, at least 22,000 meters above Earth (in what astronomers call the geostationary orbit). Because of this, the signal will travel a long distance time to send and receive data.
SpaceX is eyeing to operate at a lower altitude, at least 217 meters above Earth. The company aims to answer the issue of data travel distance, providing reliable coverage at an affordable price.
However, SpaceX is not alone in its venture of sending satellite networks for better Internet connection to space. Other companies such as Amazon and Telesat are already developing their own designs.
Through a tweet sent via Starlink, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX can begin to offer broadband connection service in the United States by mid-2020 after 6-8 launches more.
THREAT TO ASTRONOMY
Unfortunately, the launch of what they dubbed as the megaconstellation poses a threat to scientific study, according to some astronomers. It seems the Starlink satellites give off too much light. Astronomers are concerned that this will also hinder people from appreciating the night sky.
