SpaceX completes Starlink constellation with 60 additional satellites

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The launch by a Falcon 9 rocket of a batch of 60 new Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral has been the news of SpaceX in recent days. Satellites that are not exactly identical to those launched last May, as explained by Elon Musk's space company: "SpaceX has increased spectral end-user capacity with design enhancements that optimize Ka and Ku band usage (…) In addition, the components of each satellite are fully divisible and should quickly burn when they enter the atmosphere at the end of their life cycle – a measure that exceeds all applicable safety standards. "

Takeoff takes place shortly after 15 minutes.

These satellites were dropped as planned at about 280 km above sea level, unhindered. They will now be able to reach their final orbit quietly using their small integrated thrusters. To note, SpaceX took the opportunity to insist that for the first time, a first Falcon 9 rocket stage managed four launches (the latter could also be recovered after landing on a barge in the ocean Atlantic). Another key step, SpaceX has now made 50 consecutive launches.

It should be noted that SpaceX plans to launch Starlink commercially in certain US regions in mid-2020, after launching 6 lots of satellites, more than 350 vehicles. And this, while a "global" coverage will be possible only after launching 24 lots of satellites, more than 1,400 satellites. Recently, anticipating a possible scaling up of its infrastructure, SpaceX has filed a file to be granted the launch of 30,000 additional satellites, which could allow it to rely – ultimately – on a constellation of 42,000 satellites . This is starting to make a lot of satellites in low Earth orbit, especially since SpaceX is not the only player to enter this market, Amazon and OneWeb also planning to deploy thousands of satellites to operate their own Internet networks satellite.

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