{"id":18640,"date":"2018-02-11T20:39:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-11T12:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-set-to-launch-first-prototype-starlink-satellites-for-global-internet\/"},"modified":"2018-02-11T20:39:59","modified_gmt":"2018-02-11T12:39:59","slug":"spacex-set-to-launch-first-prototype-starlink-satellites-for-global-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-set-to-launch-first-prototype-starlink-satellites-for-global-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX set to launch first prototype Starlink satellites for global internet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SpaceX
SpaceX\u2019s Redmond office is the center for its satellite operations. (GeekWire Photo \/ Kevin Lisota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first test satellites for SpaceX\u2019s global internet constellation are being prepped for launch \u2014 three years after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the project in Seattle.<\/p>\n

The prototype spacecraft, known as Microsat 2a and 2b, are reportedly to be included as secondary payloads on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, due for launch on Feb. 21. The primary payload is a 3,000-pound Spanish radar observation satellite called Paz.<\/p>\n

SpaceX conducted a static-fire test of the Falcon 9, which makes use of a previously flown first-stage booster, at Vandenberg today. The test involved briefly firing up the booster\u2019s rocket engines as a rehearsal for liftoff.<\/p>\n

Paz is due to be launched into a 319-mile, nearly pole-to-pole orbit \u2014 but SpaceX\u2019s satellites could eventually go higher to test a Ku-band radio communication system in concert with an array of ground stations.<\/p>\n

SpaceX has given the lead role for development of the satellite network to a team headquartered in Redmond, Wash.<\/p>\n

Documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission indicate that ground stations will be housed at SpaceX facilities in Redmond and Brewster, Wash., as well as at the company\u2019s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., and facilities in McGregor and Brownsville in Texas. Another ground station is to be placed at Tesla\u2019s headquarters in Fremont, Calif., which Musk heads as CEO.<\/p>\n

SpaceX says it will also be testing satellite communications with receiving terminals built into mobile vans.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s business plan calls for putting thousands of communication satellites in orbit, with limited service starting by 2020. The satellite constellation, informally known as Starlink, eventually would provide low-cost internet access on a global scale.<\/p>\n