SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites could be used for GPS navigationĪhead of Thursday's launch, SpaceX rolled out the Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday afternoon to begin its final launch preparations. SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites forced to dodge Russian anti-satellite test debris China's Tianhe space station module dodged SpaceX Starlink satellites twice this year Related: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket on record 11th flight carrying 52 Starlink satellites The company has approval for as many as 30,000 of the broadband satellites, and could plan to launch even more. If successful, the flight could bring the total number of Starlink satellites launched to nearly 2,000, as it works to fill its planned orbital shells. This will also reduce their reliance on ground stations here on Earth. As part of an effort to make satellite operations more efficient, the company recently enhanced its satellites with the ability to communicate with each other via laser links. Thursday's flight also continues SpaceX's effort to launch its newly upgraded Starlink internet satellites. That mission is slated to be SpaceX's next launch from Cape Canaveral after the Transporter 3 mission. (Transporter 1 and 2 both launched in 2021.) It will also mark the 34th dedicated Starlink mission to date.Īlso scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket this month is the Italian space agency's COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG 2) radar reconnaissance satellite. As the name suggests, it will be the third dedicated rideshare mission that SpaceX has launched. 13, that rocket will launch the Transporter 3 mission, a rideshare endeavor for SpaceX, where its workhorse rocket will carry dozens of small satellites for a variety of customers. Typically, SpaceX launches most of its Starlink satellites from its facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force station, but there's another Falcon 9 rocket currently sitting there on Pad 40. As such, we could see several rockets launched in January, as the company tries to keep up its rapid launch cadence. SpaceX is continuing with that momentum going into the new year. (That record was previously set in 2020, with SpaceX launching 26 Falcon 9 rockets.) Thursday's flight will mark the first Falcon 9 mission for SpaceX so far in 2022 after it set a new company record for the most number of rocket launches in a year with 31 rockets launched in 2021. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 60 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on May 26, 2021.
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