Watch live as SpaceX launches more than four dozen Starlink satellites on Thursday
SpaceX is ready to send another batch Starlink internet satellites into orbit and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket readied to launch 49 Starlink spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT). You can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly through the company. SpaceX launch webcasts typically start 15 to 20 minutes before takeoff.
The 49 new ships will join more than 1,800 functional satellites in the Starlink constellation, according to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who also closely monitors satellites and space debris.
This Star Link lot, known as Groups 4-7, will soon increase after the other two lots. Star Link Group 4-5 and 4-6 successfully launched from KSC on January 6 and January 19, respectively. SpaceX also performed Starlink launches for most of the month of 2021.
SpaceX finally hopes to have more 42,000 satellites in megaconstellation Starlink. While the company touts benefits for people living in remote areas who don’t have access to traditional internet services, this constellation raises the risk orbital collision and maybe mar astronomical observationcritics have said.
However, SpaceX has committed fast speed for Starlink in 2022 to continue building its constellation and expanding service to more rural areas.
The Group 4-7 launch was originally scheduled for last week but has been delayed several times due to bad weather hindering the launch of Italy’s SpaceX CSG-2 Earth observation satellite. CSG-2 take off on monday (January 31) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, next to KSC.
Starlink 4-7 will wrap up a busy week for SpaceX. In addition to CSG-2, the company launched the NROL-87 reconnaissance satellite for the US National Reconnaissance Office from California’s Vandenberg Space Station on Wednesday (February 2).
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow them on Twitter @Spacedotcom and more Facebook.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-4-7-launch-watch-live Watch live as SpaceX launches more than four dozen Starlink satellites on Thursday
