SpaceX to launch first two of roughly 12,000 satellites that will provide global internet access
Take three!
After two reschedules due to high wind altitude and equipment review, SpaceX is on track to launch three satellites into non-geostationary orbit Thursday morning at 9:17 a.m. EST.
I know, I know, the headline said two satellites — the third amigo on this trip and the main payload for the mission is the Earth-observation satellite, Paz, operated by Spain’s Hidesat. According to their site, the radar technology will orbit the Earth 15 times a day while simultaneously capturing more than 100 images at 25cm resolution.
But back to Starlink — yes, there’s a theme here. Starman, Starlink, Battlestar Galacti —
SpaceX will launch the first two of 11,925 satellites into orbit as a part of their Starman project, which aims to provide global internet connectivity and access for those in remote areas. Some may remember a similar initiative in theory by Facebook’s Mark Zuckberg and his Internet.org project — Starman is far, far from that.
The prototypes, Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b will deploy from the Falcon 9’s upper stage shortly after Paz is released into the cosmos to begin it’s 5-year mission.
Eventually, Starlink will be segmented into two parts — 4,425 satellites will orbit the Earth roughly 700 miles up in the sky, with the remaining 7,518 satellites located 200 miles up. The end-goal here is to build a constellation of satellites that will provide a sprawling spider web of internet access around the world.
Watch it live!
Updates:
Successful launch and deployment of Paz satellite.
Starlink is live! You can tell because now they have names.
Thanks for reading!
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