SpaceX Widens Constellation In The Orbit, With Its Recent Starlink Launch

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully launched its second batch of space constellation Starlink this month. After a slight delay due to strong winds, the 229 foot tall Falcon 9 took with it 60 satellites into space on the morning of January 29th, 2020. 

When the clock struck 9:07 am, Falcon 9 emerged victorious from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida reaching 302 kilometers low Earth’s orbit just about an hour after it took off. The first stage booster landed on the droneship named ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ in the Atlantic Ocean. 

SpaceX plans to continue on low altitudes to test their satellites so they would just burn up in the atmosphere in case of faults. Once they are confident of their satellite capabilities they plan to raise the altitude to a 550-kilometer operational orbit. 

The company has set a target to have two Starlink launches every month in 2020 and they seem to be at a good start.  The Starlink is a satellite constellation that is expected to beam the ‘internet’ back down to earth. A network of mass-produced satellites will be sent into space every month and as of January 2020, SpaceX has already stationed 242 satellites in the orbit. 

When looked at ambitiously, halfway into 2020 the company will have launched  12,000 satellites into space at the going pace. If they aim higher, the number will reach 42,000 by year-end. 

Beaming the internet back to earth, what does it mean?

Elon Musk’s SpaceX wishes to connect the globe with the Starlink network by providing high-speed internet access. As the orbit crowds with more and more satellites, SpaceX’s constellation becomes the largest ever in the orbit at a number of 240. 

At present, the world is using cellular towers to provide an internet connection. A good connection is promised only to the easily accessible places. Most times, rural and remote areas are not able to reach network connection and SpaceX believes in changing that. By operating at a lower altitude, they believe they can counter the slower speed connectivity problem. 

With so many satellites in space beaming the internet to the world below, SpaceX also suggests making the cost more affordable for users. With Musk’s intention of reusing rockets, the cost could come down but there is also the possibility of failures. Nevertheless, this would be a big step towards internet connectivity with growing technologies such as AI, ML, and IoT.