Falcon 9 deploys 56 Starlink satellites at SpaceX’s twentieth launch of the yr – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX continued to launch satellites for the Starlink Web community on Friday, sending a Falcon 9 rocket overhead from Cape Canaveral with 56 different legacy broadband spacecraft as floor groups troubleshoot a batch of upgraded Starlinks launched on final month.

The 56 satellites have been loaded onto the 70-meter-high Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff at 11:43:10 EDT (1543:10 UTC) on Friday from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Area Power Station. Driving on 1.7 million kilos of large thrust from 9 kerosene-fueled Merlin essential engines, Falcon 9 accelerated to sooner than the pace of sound in about one minute because it raced throughout sunny skies heading southeast from Cape Canaveral.

Following a now-familiar routine, the rocket’s first stage shut down its 9 engines two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, then dropped to start an arc towards SpaceX’s touchdown pad, or drone ship, positioned some 410 miles away ( 660 kilometers) southeast of Cape Canaveral or northeast of the Bahamas. The rocket, numbered B1067 in SpaceX’s stock, reignited a subset of its engines to decelerate for reentry and touchdown, then settled on the floating platform deck about eight-and-a-half minutes into the mission.

The restoration crew will return the rocket, now a veteran of 10 spaceflights, to Cape Canaveral for refurbishment for a future mission. A separate SpaceX crew within the Atlantic was on station to get better the 2 halves of the rocket’s payload fairing, or nostril cone, after they parachuted into the ocean.

Falcon 9’s second stage fired its single engine twice to inject the 56 Starlink satellites into an orbit about 200 miles (300 kilometers) above the Earth, at a 43-degree inclination to the equator. SpaceX confirmed the profitable deployment of the 56 spacecraft simply over an hour into the mission.

The 56 spacecraft at Friday’s launch totaled about greater than 17.4 tons, or greater than 38,000 kilos, tying the file for the heaviest payload ever flown on a SpaceX rocket with a earlier Starlink launch in January. Firm engineers experimented with engine throttle settings, gasoline effectivity, and different minor upgrades to extend the Falcon 9’s carry capability.

One other Falcon 9 launch scheduled for Wednesday from Cape Canaveral may also carry greater than 50 Starlink Web satellites.

Liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket with 56 different Starlink Web satellites, kicking off SpaceX’s twentieth launch of the yr. https://t.co/biik6N2uq6 pic.twitter.com/0t6MpaqR8h

Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) March 24, 2023

Friday’s launch and subsequent week’s SpaceX mission have been initially slated to choose up a number of batches of SpaceX’s bigger second-generation Starlink satellites. The second-generation Starlink V2 Mini satellites characteristic improved phased array antennas and have 4 instances the communication capability of earlier generations of Starlink satellites, generally known as model 1.5, SpaceX stated.

The primary batch of 21 upgraded Starlink V2 Mini satellites launched Feb. 27 on a Falcon 9 rocket, which launched the spacecraft into orbit at an altitude of about 230 miles (370 kilometers). Publicly out there orbital information confirmed the satellites elevated their altitude to almost 240 miles (about 380 kilometers), however the spacecraft started a gradual descent in mid-March.

Starlink satellites sometimes activate their thrusters to start maneuvering from their preliminary orbit, the place they’re deployed by the Falcon 9 rocket, to increased working altitudes greater than 300 miles above the Earth. The lift-to-orbit stall has raised questions amongst some observers concerning the standing of the brand new Starlink V2 Mini satellites.

A number of new applied sciences in Starlink V2, so we have been working into some points, as anticipated, Musk tweeted on Wednesday. He added that among the Starlink V2 Minis satellites may very well be deorbited, whereas others will likely be completely examined earlier than climbing above the altitude of the Worldwide Area Station, which flies at an altitude of 260 miles (420 kilometers).

The Falcon 9 launch on Friday and the upcoming flight from Florida on Wednesday have been initially supposed to hold up to date Starlink V2 Mini satellites, however SpaceX has changed these second-generation satellite tv for pc stacks with groupings of older Starlink V1.5 spacecraft. SpaceX has not confirmed whether or not issues with the primary 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites have been the explanation for the payload swaps on the subsequent two Falcon 9 missions.

Friday’s launch was designated Starlink 5-5 in SpaceX’s launch sequence, and the mission set for March 29 is known as Starlink 5-10. The launches carry batches of older-design satellites into orbit which can be a part of the second-generation, or Gen2, Starlink constellation, which can finally be populated primarily by Starlink V2 Mini satellites and a bigger area platform referred to as Starlink V2 sized for launch at SpaceX. large future tremendous heavy booster and starship rocket.

The spacecraft has practically 10 instances the payload carry capability of a Falcon 9 rocket, with extra quantity for satellites as nicely.

In keeping with Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and professional spaceflight exercise tracker, SpaceX has launched 4,161 Starlink satellites thus far and three,858 of the spacecraft are presently in orbit, together with the 56 new satellites deployed on Friday. The remaining have been prototypes, failed spacecraft, or satellites that had been deliberately ordered to reenter the environment and fritter away.

McDowell stated it is no shock that SpaceX has encountered difficulties activating the brand new Starlink V2 Mini satellites.

“You are launching a brand new satellite tv for pc challenge,” he stated. “It is actually not unusual for the primary few weeks of flying a brand new satellite tv for pc to search out, ‘Oh, we have some teething issues, we have to debug some issues earlier than we are able to actually fee the satellite tv for pc.'”

One other change within the up to date design of the Starlink V2 Mini satellite tv for pc is within the propulsion system. The brand new satellites are propelled by an argon-fueled electrical thruster system, able to producing 2.4 instances the thrust with 1.5 instances the precise impulse, or gasoline effectivity, of krypton-fueled ion thrusters on the primary technology of Starlink satellites.

Every Starlink V2 Mini satellite tv for pc weighs roughly 1,760 kilos (800 kilograms) at launch, practically thrice heavier than older Starlink satellites. They’re additionally bigger in measurement, with a spacecraft physique greater than 13 toes (4.1 meters) large, filling greater than the payload fairing of Falcon 9 rockets throughout launch, in line with Federal Communications Fee regulatory filings.

The bigger and heavier satellite tv for pc platform means a Falcon 9 rocket can solely launch round 21 Starlink V2 Mini payloads at a time, in comparison with greater than 50 Starlink V1.5 on a single Falcon 9 launch.

“The V2 Minis, they are not a totally clear design in comparison with the V1.5, however there’s a variety of new stuff on them, so we should not be too shocked that they’ve some teething issues,” stated McDowell.

This 10X time-lapse replay exhibits SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster hovering excessive above the Atlantic Ocean close to the Bahamas after liftoff right this moment from Cape Canaveral.

The 15-story-high reusable booster landed on a drone ship to conclude its tenth flight into area.https://t.co/biik6N2uq6 pic.twitter.com/80f0Pg9Rge

Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) March 24, 2023

Starlink V2 satellites will have the ability to transmit alerts on to cell telephones, a step ahead in connectivity from area that different firms are additionally pursuing. V2 Mini satellites introduce E-band for backhaul hyperlinks with gateway stations.

This implies Starlink can ship extra bandwidth with better reliability and join thousands and thousands of individuals all over the world with high-speed Web, SpaceX stated forward of the primary launch of the Starlink V2 Mini satellites final month.

The 2 deployable photo voltaic arrays on every Starlink V2 Mini satellite tv for pc span roughly 100 toes (30 meters) from tip to tip. The earlier technology of Starlink V1.5 satellites every have a single photo voltaic array wing, with every spacecraft measuring roughly 36 toes (11 meters) end-to-end as soon as the photo voltaic array is prolonged.

The enhancements give Starlink V2 Mini satellites a complete space of ​​1,248 sq. toes, or 116 sq. meters, greater than 4 instances that of a Starlink V1.5 satellite tv for pc.

The FCC granted SpaceX approval Dec. 1 to launch as much as 7,500 of its deliberate 29,988 Starlink Gen2 constellation spacecraft, which can unfold out in barely totally different orbits than the unique Starlink fleet. The regulatory company has deferred a call on the remaining SpaceX satellites proposed for Gen2.

SpaceX started launching older technology Starlink V1.5 satellites within the Gen2 constellation on Dec. 28.

The FCC beforehand approved SpaceX to launch and function roughly 4,400 first-generation Ka- and Ku-band Starlink spacecraft that SpaceX has launched since 2019.

The Gen2 satellites might enhance Starlink protection over low-latitude areas and assist ease the pressure on the community resulting from rising client uptake. SpaceX says the community has greater than 1 million lively subscribers, largely households in areas the place typical fiber connectivity is unavailable, unreliable or costly.

The Starlink spacecraft transmits broadband Web alerts to shoppers all over the world, connectivity that’s now out there on all seven continents.

Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX’s vice chairman of Starlink industrial gross sales, stated earlier this month that the corporate is producing about six satellites a day at a Starlink manufacturing unit close to Seattle.

Friday’s launch was the twentieth mission of the yr for SpaceX, placing the corporate on a tempo for about 88 Falcon rocket flights in 2023. The corporate started the yr with a objective of launching 100 Falcon rockets, not counting the anticipated debut of the a lot bigger rocket starship.

Except for subsequent week’s Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX is getting ready to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Vandenberg Area Power Base in California with a gaggle of small satellites for the US Military’s Area Growth Company.

As much as six Falcon 9 rockets and one Falcon Heavy rocket, made by combining three Falcon 9 first stage cores collectively, are scheduled to launch by SpaceX in April.

E-mail the writer.

Observe Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.