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[SpaceX Launching 20 Starlink Internet Satellites From California This Morning] SpaceX plans to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from California this morning (Oct. 29). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft, including 13 with direct-to-cell (DTC) capability, is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base today, during a nearly hour-long window that opens at 7:44 a.m. EDT (1144 GMT; 4:44 a.m. local California time). SpaceX will stream the launch live via X, beginning about five minutes before liftoff. If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will come back to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff. It will touch down on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It will be the 14th launch and landing for this particular booster and its 11th Starlink mission overall, according to a SpaceX mission description. The Falcon 9's upper stage will haul the Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they'll be deployed about an hour after liftoff. SpaceX has already launched more than 100 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, about two-thirds of them devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation. The company currently operates more than 6,400 Starlink spacecraft in LEO, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell. About 250 of them are DTC satellites. Source: https://lnkd.in/exXE93uD #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

[SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches Starlink Satellites On Record 21st Flight] A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for the 21st time tonight (May 17), setting a new reusability record for the company. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:32 p.m. EDT (0032 GMT on May 18), sending 23 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites toward orbit. The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff as planned, touching down on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 21st launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. That set a new record, which may well be tied multiple times in the near future; two Falcon 9 first stages currently have 20 flights under their belts. The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued carrying the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them there about 65 minutes after liftoff as planned. Tonight's liftoff was the 51st orbital mission of 2024 already for SpaceX, which aims to launch about 150 times before the year is out. Thirty-six of those 51 orbital launches have been devoted to building out the Starlink broadband megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 5,900 operational satellites. Source: https://lnkd.in/e2kZG72m #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

[SpaceX Launches 20 Starlink Satellites, Lands Rocket At Sea] SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink satellites to orbit today (Sept. 20). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink craft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's foggy central coast today at 9:50 a.m. EDT (1350 GMT and 6:50 a.m. local California time). The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned, landing on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after launch. It was the 13th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Ten of those flights have been Starlink missions. SpaceX has launched more than 7,000 satellites to date for Starlink, its megaconstellation in low Earth orbit that provides internet service to customers around the world. More than 6,300 of those spacecraft are active today, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Thirteen of the 20 Starlink craft that went up today can beam service directly to cellphones, a relatively new capability SpaceX is building out in LEO. The first direct-to-cell Starlink satellites went up in January 2024, and more than 100 now circle Earth. SpaceX has now launched 91 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, 62 of which have been Starlink flights. The company's launch tally overall for the year is 94. That number includes one mission of its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket and two test flights of Starship, the giant new vehicle SpaceX is developing with hopes of settling the moon and Mars. Source: https://lnkd.in/eDRp5-_N #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

[SpaceX Completes 1st Starlink Direct-to-Cell Constellation With Launch From California] SpaceX notched a big milestone with a launch of its Starlink internet satellites on Wednesday night (Dec. 4). A Falcon 9 rocket launched 20 Starlink spacecraft from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday at 10:05 p.m. EST (7:05 p.m. local California time; 0305 GMT on Dec. 5) and deployed them in low Earth orbit (LEO) about 61 minutes later as planned. Thirteen of the newly launched satellites are capable of beaming service directly to satellites, rounding out the first shell of this specialized network. "The first Starlink satellite direct-to-cell phone constellation is now complete," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said via X early on Thursday morning (Dec. 5). "This will enable unmodified cellphones to have internet connectivity in remote areas. Bandwidth per beam is only ~10Mb, but future constellations will be much more capable." The Falcon 9's first stage, meanwhile, returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned, landing on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 12th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Half of those missions have been Starlink flights. SpaceX has already launched more than 80 Starlink missions so far in 2024. The huge, ever-growing LEO constellation currently consists of 6,799 operational spacecraft, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. About 330 of those are direct-to-cell capable. Source: https://lnkd.in/eGggvJDK #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

[SpaceX Launches 20 Starlink Satellites, Lands Rocket At Sea] SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink satellites to orbit today (Sept. 20). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink craft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's foggy central coast today at 9:50 a.m. EDT (1350 GMT and 6:50 a.m. local California time). The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned, landing on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after launch. It was the 13th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Ten of those flights have been Starlink missions. SpaceX has launched more than 7,000 satellites to date for Starlink, its megaconstellation in low Earth orbit that provides internet service to customers around the world. More than 6,300 of those spacecraft are active today, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Thirteen of the 20 Starlink craft that went up today can beam service directly to cellphones, a relatively new capability SpaceX is building out in LEO. The first direct-to-cell Starlink satellites went up in January 2024, and more than 100 now circle Earth. SpaceX has now launched 91 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, 62 of which have been Starlink flights. The company's launch tally overall for the year is 94. That number includes one mission of its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket and two test flights of Starship, the giant new vehicle SpaceX is developing with hopes of settling the moon and Mars. Source: https://lnkd.in/eDRp5-_N #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

[SpaceX Launches 20 Starlink Satellites, Including 13 Direct-to-cell Craft] SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites on Tuesday night (June 4), including 13 that can beam service directly to smartphones. The Starlink spacecraft took flight atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida tonight at 10:16 p.m. EDT (0216 GMT on June 5). The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch as planned, landing on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 20th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. That's just one shy of the company's reuse record, which it set on a Starlink launch last month. The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued carrying the 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they were deployed about 52 minutes after liftoff. So far in 2024, SpaceX has launched 58 orbital missions, 41 of which have been dedicated to building out the huge and ever-growing Starlink megaconstellation. SpaceX is gearing up for a much more dramatic launch this week — the fourth test flight of its Starship megarocket. That highly anticipated mission is scheduled to lift off from the company's Starbase site in South Texas on Thursday morning (June 6). Source: https://lnkd.in/eeRHzUgQ #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

[SpaceX Launches 23 Starlink Satellites To Orbit From Florida] SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink satellites to orbit early Friday (Aug. 2), continuing the company's bounceback from a July 11 failure. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink craft lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday at 1:01 a.m. EDT (0501 GMT). The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after launch as planned, landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 12th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Nine of those 12 flights have been Starlink missions. The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, hauled the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them there about 64 minutes after launch, according to SpaceX. Friday's launch was SpaceX's fourth in less than a week, following a Starlink liftoff on July 27 and two more on July 28. Those three launches broke a two-week drought for the company, which was grounded for a spell after a July 11 Falcon 9 failure. That mishap occurred after a Falcon 9 upper stage sprang a leak of liquid oxygen, preventing the vehicle from performing a planned orbit-raising burn. Twenty Starlink satellites were lost as a result. SpaceX identified the cause of the leak as a crack in a line for a pressure sensor in the upper stage's liquid-oxygen system, and says it has taken measures to prevent the problem from recurring. Source: https://lnkd.in/ed-_vT-f #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

The rapidly increasing number of #collisionavoidance maneuvers performed by SpaceX's STARLINK #satellites has raised concerns about #scalability to the full mega-#constellation. Key points: In the past six months (Dec 2022 - May 2023), Starlink satellites had to maneuver over 25,000 times to avoid potential collisions, doubling from the previous six-month period. Since 2019, Starlink satellites have had to move over 50,000 times to prevent collisions. The number of maneuvers is growing exponentially, doubling every six months. If this trend continues, by 2028, Starlink satellites may have to maneuver nearly a million times in a half-year period. The increasing number of satellites and space debris are the main reasons behind the growing need for avoidance maneuvers. Experts are concerned that the rising number of maneuvers and collision risks could lead to regular collisions in the future, potentially resulting in the #KesslerSyndrome, where a cascade of collisions could render parts of Earth's orbit unusable. Despite SpaceX's efforts to maintain a high safety standard, the long-term sustainability of satellite operations is questioned as thousands of new spacecraft are set to launch in the coming years.

SpaceX Celebrates 5th Anniversary of Starlink with 23 New Satellites 🚀✨ On the fifth anniversary of its first dedicated Starlink launch, SpaceX successfully launched 23 more Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. This marks the third Falcon 9 launch in less than 48 hours, demonstrating SpaceX's rapid launch capabilities. Key Highlights: ◼️ Milestone: 5th anniversary of the first Starlink launch (May 23, 2019) ◼️ Recent Launch: 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit ◼️ Global Reach: 3 million customers across 99 countries This expansion underscores SpaceX's commitment to global connectivity and technological innovation. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster, with tail number B1077, made its 13th flight and successfully landed on the droneship. Join us in celebrating this remarkable achievement and the future of global internet access. 🔗 More Info: https://buff.ly/3KkwQbo #SpaceX #Starlink #SpaceInnovation #GlobalConnectivity #somrasvc #spaceflightnow

SpaceX successfully launched 22 Starlink satellites into orbit using a brand-new Falcon 9 rocket, marking another milestone in expanding global broadband access. 🚀🌍 - 🚀 A brand-new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket made its maiden flight, successfully delivering 22 Starlink satellites into orbit. - 🌊 The first stage of the Falcon 9 returned safely, landing on SpaceX's drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean. - 🌌 These satellites join SpaceX's growing Starlink megaconstellation, aimed at providing high-speed internet access worldwide. - 🔄 Typically, SpaceX uses pre-flown rockets for such missions, making this maiden flight a unique event. - 🛰️ Over 6,800 Starlink satellites have been launched so far, with some already retired as part of ongoing upgrades. #SpaceX #Starlink #Falcon9 - 🚀 A new Falcon 9 rocket's first flight underscores SpaceX's innovative approach to reusable space technology. - 🌍 Starlink's expanding constellation aims to bridge the digital divide by providing global broadband coverage. - 🔄 The reuse of rockets is a key part of SpaceX's strategy, making this maiden voyage notable for its rarity. - 📈 As the Starlink network grows, it continues to push the boundaries of satellite-based internet technology.