CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX Start another big batch Starlink satellite Today (September 17th) ascend the company’s fast-growing giant constellation trajectory, you can see the action in real time online.
The California-based company will have 60 Starlink Internet satellites on its flagship. Falcon 9 Rocket Departed before 2:19 PM EDT (1819 GMT) at Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
You can Watch it launch live here And, powered by SpaceX on the Space.com homepage, it starts about 15 minutes before takeoff. You can also Watch the launch directly through SpaceX.
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Today’s flight, called Starlink 12 by SpaceX, is actually the 13th largest satellite deployment the company has launched into space. But the company The initial deployment of 60 satellites was systematically out of orbit. That’s because SpaceX has always meant that initial bunch of things to be a test series. To date, 26 of the original satellites are out of orbit, 8 are in declining orbit, and 26 are in operation.
SpaceX hopes to provide high-speed Internet access to users around the world through the Starlink giant constellation. A small terminal (no larger than a laptop) allows users on the ground to connect to an ever-growing network. Founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk It said that the company had to launch 500 to 800 satellites to start the service.
To date, SpaceX has launched more than 700 Internet-beam satellites into orbit to fill the initial constellations of the planned 1,440 spacecraft. SpaceX has already begun testing the speed of space-based internet services, and the initial data looks promising. Company engineers say that the data collected so far indicates that the service offers fast download speeds, allowing users to stream multiple HD movies at the same time.
Starlink broadband Internet is currently in the closed beta testing phase, but the public could begin beta testing later this year, SpaceX representatives said.
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Today’s launch is the entire 94th flight of SpaceX’s two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. The takeoff is designated as the first stage of the veteran Falcon 9, B1058, with two flights under the belt. Frequent customers previously released Two NASA astronauts As well as a trip to the space station Communication satellite For the Korean army.
As the company continues to prove the reliability of the Falcon 9, booster flights that have previously flown have become commonplace for SpaceX. Today’s launch marks the second time one of the company’s veteran boosters attempts to launch and land in the sixth.
SpaceX is both a launch provider and customer for the Starlink mission, so this summer they rely heavily on their flight-proven boosters to maintain a fast launch rate. In fact, this mission marks SpaceX’s 17th flight in 2020 and Falcon 9 The title of the most flying American rocket Earlier this year-top contender, Atlas V. of United Launch Alliance.
To date, SpaceX has successfully landed Tier 1 boosters 60 times. Now the company has two fully functioning drone landing platforms in Florida: “Of course I still love you” and “Read the instructions” so you can launch more rockets. The new drone spacecraft “Just Read the Instructions” on the block is already in the recovery area and awaits their turn to catch B1051 when they return to Earth this afternoon.
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Today’s weather forecast looks uncertain. A member of the US Air Force’s 45th Meteorological Division prediction 60% probability of favorable firing conditions. The temperature in this area is estimated to be 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius), and cumulus and anvil clouds are likely to occur.
If you can’t embark on your mission today, you have a backup attempt tomorrow (September 18). However, the weather is deteriorating with a 40% chance of favorable take-off conditions, as the storm is expected to be pushed into the area on Friday.
SpaceX will continue the tradition of restoring the Falcon 9’s payload pairing or nose cone in flight today. The company already has GO Ms. Tree and Ms. GO. By placing a boat equipped with two nets called Chief, Pairing They fall to Earth in two pieces.
Each piece of clamshell-type hardware, which costs about $6 million, includes software that moves to the recovery area and the sea or Ms. GO. Equipped with a parachute system that allows you to smoothly land on the tree’s outstretched net. GO Ms. Chief.
One of the pairing pieces in this mission has already flown twice, protecting two different Starlink payloads. One in May 2019 and one in March 2020.
correction: The story was updated at 9:55 AM EDT, listing the correct Falcon 9 rockets flying in this mission.
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