Successful launch, booster landing, and v2 mini satellites deploymen
26.09.2023 posted by Admin
SpaceX has just completed its 42nd Starlink mission this year, using a Falcon 9 rocket that took off from the West Coast at 1:48 a.m. PDT (4:48 a.m. EDT / 0848 UTC) on a Monday morning.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, heading southeast towards a specific orbit measuring 185x178 miles (297x286 km) and inclined at 53 degrees relative to the equator.
This particular Falcon 9's first stage booster, on its sixth flight, had previously been used for the first Tranche 0 mission for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency and had also completed four prior Starlink delivery missions. After completing its mission, it made a successful landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I still Love You,' stationed approximately 400 miles downrange (644 km) in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Baja California.
About an hour after liftoff, 21 V2 Mini Starlink satellites were successfully deployed. These V2 Mini satellites are a recent addition, introduced earlier this year and notably larger than their V1.5 predecessors. With enhanced antennae and larger solar panels, these newer models can provide four times the bandwidth compared to the previous generation.
SpaceX made headlines recently by announcing that it had attracted over two million subscribers across more than 60 countries for its Starlink internet service. Since 2019, the company has launched a total of 5,178 satellites, as reported by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who maintains a comprehensive space flight database. Out of these, 4,828 satellites are still in orbit, and prior to the most recent launch, 4,776 of them were functioning as expected.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, heading southeast towards a specific orbit measuring 185x178 miles (297x286 km) and inclined at 53 degrees relative to the equator.
This particular Falcon 9's first stage booster, on its sixth flight, had previously been used for the first Tranche 0 mission for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency and had also completed four prior Starlink delivery missions. After completing its mission, it made a successful landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I still Love You,' stationed approximately 400 miles downrange (644 km) in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Baja California.
About an hour after liftoff, 21 V2 Mini Starlink satellites were successfully deployed. These V2 Mini satellites are a recent addition, introduced earlier this year and notably larger than their V1.5 predecessors. With enhanced antennae and larger solar panels, these newer models can provide four times the bandwidth compared to the previous generation.
SpaceX made headlines recently by announcing that it had attracted over two million subscribers across more than 60 countries for its Starlink internet service. Since 2019, the company has launched a total of 5,178 satellites, as reported by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who maintains a comprehensive space flight database. Out of these, 4,828 satellites are still in orbit, and prior to the most recent launch, 4,776 of them were functioning as expected.