On Saturday night in Cape Canaveral, FL, Starlink launched another 52 internet satellites into orbit on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX’s deployment of Starlink low-earth-orbit satellites has created a global broadband internet network that is now accessible from all seven continents. The odd spectacle will be a new norm as SpaceX fills the sky with thousands of satellites.
Starlink Satellites crossing the sky above Aquindeck Island.
The real question is, with the threat of geomagnetic storms and space debris, how long will they stay in orbit? SpaceX’s first launch is said to have lost 40 of its 49 Starlink satellites to atmospheric drag from a geomagnetic storm.
Starlink Satellite Burning up on from atmospheric drag over Puerto Rico.
Read more on Starlinks website below:
Most satellite internet services come from single geostationary satellites that orbit the planet at 35,786 km. As a result, the round trip data time between the user and satellite—also known as latency—is high, making it nearly impossible to support streaming, online gaming, video calls or other high data rate activities.
Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that orbit the planet much closer to Earth, at about 550km, and cover the entire globe. Because Starlink satellites are in a low orbit, latency is significantly lower—around 20 ms vs 600+ ms.
Want to find the best time to see them cross the horizon?
SpaceX Starlink Satellites Tracker (findstarlink.com)
Starlink Launch:
