Tag: Starlink
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SpaceX launches third batch of 60 Starlink broadband satellites, reviving concerns
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its launch pad, sending Starlink satellites into space. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX sent a fresh batch of 60 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit tonight on a Falcon 9 rocket, executing a mission that aims to give the California-based company the world’s biggest commercial satellite constellation. When added to the…
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SpaceX test-fires rocket ahead of record-setting Starlink launch
The Falcon 9 rocket slated to launch SpaceX’s third batch of Starlink broadband satellites was test-fired Jan. 4 at Cape Canaveral. Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday at Cape Canaveral, two days before a scheduled launch Monday with 60 Starlink broadband relay stations that will make SpaceX the owner of…
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Good weather predicted for Cape Canaveral’s first launch of 2020
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now Forecasters predict near-ideal weather conditions Monday night for the first launch at Cape Canaveral this year, when SpaceX plans to send another 60 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The 60 small satellites…
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SpaceX set for record-breaking 2020 manifest
SpaceX completed its final mission of the year on Dec. 16 with the successful launch of JCSAT-18/Kacific1 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It was the company’s 13th launch of 2019, SpaceX’s lowest yearly launch total since 2016. However, the Falcon manifest for 2020 promises to be far busier. The slump in launches this year was a…
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Satellite mega-constellations stir a debate over avoiding catastrophic orbital crashes
An image of the NGC 5353/4 galaxy group, made with a telescope at Arizona’s Lowell Observatory on May 25, shows the trails of reflected light left by SpaceX’s freshly launched Starlink satellites as they pass through the telescope’s field of view. The brightness diminishes once the satellites reach their intended altitude. (Lowell Observatory Photo via…
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How the Seattle area became a hotspot for satellite builders — and what comes next
SpaceX employees in Redmond, Wash., give a cheer during the countdown to a Falcon 9 rocket launch that put dozens of Redmond-built SpaceX Starlink satellites in orbit on Nov. 11. (SpaceX via YouTube) Seattle may not be the best place to put a launch pad, but the region is turning into one of the most…
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SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink internet satellites — and hits reusability milestones
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its launch pad, sending 60 satellites into orbit. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX sent its second set of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit today, atop a Falcon 9 rocket that featured the fourth go-round for the first-stage booster and the first reuse of a nose cone. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral…
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SpaceX and Cape Canaveral Return to Action with First Operational Starlink Mission
After a little under three months without a mission from Florida’s launch pads, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Monday morning. Liftoff from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station occurred at 09:56 AM EST (14:56 UTC). The mission carried the first group of operational Starlink satellites to orbit. The launch was the first…
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Watch the static fire of the Falcon 9 being readied for Starlink mission
A Falcon 9 rocket fires its nine Merlin first stage engines at Cape Canaveral’s launch pad 40 Nov. 5, 2019, as part of a routine pre-launch test. The successful static fire clears the way for the launch of 60 Starlink satellites, currently scheduled for Nov. 11. Live coverage like this is made possible by the…
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SpaceX finally fires up Falcon 9 ahead of Starlink mission
After a three-month halt in orbital launches for SpaceX, the company has begun making a return to launch action, this time for a second dedicated Starlink Internet satellite mission. The Falcon 9 booster that will be used for this mission – estimated to be flight-proven core B1048.4 – was quickly static fired on the launch…