SpaceX has announced that their team is go for the launch of the next 60 Starlink satellites tomorrow. The Starlink satellite network is designed to provide high speed broadband internet to every corner of the Earth.
The system requires a large complex antenna, so this is more something you would access with a satellite dish than a cell phone. Imagine someone in the middle of nowhere who needs high speed internet access –– that’s who Starlink is for.
The launch of the Starlink network is designed to fund SpaceX’s mission of building a city on Mars. Presumably once we arrive on Mars, the technology behind Starlink would allow humans to quickly set up a global high speed broadband network across the planet.
When the system is finished there will be thousands of Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth. This is the second launch of 60 satellites.
A few milestones for the launch:
- Heaviest payload to date
- First re-flight of a previously used fairing
- First Falcon9 to fly a fourth mission
SpaceX is targeting a launch at 9:56 AM Eastern Time. That’s 6:56 AM Pacific, 14:56 UTC. If they can’t launch in a few hours, they’ll try again tomorrow.
The Starlink satellites are currently sitting on the pad in Florida ready to launch.
You can watch the launch live on YouTube, as always.
For more info, check out Starlink’s website.