SpaceX set to launch tenth batch of Starlink satellites

SpaceX set to launch its tenth batch of Starlink satellites bringing total to 600 – but tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch has just a 40% chance of liftoff due to storms

SpaceX set to launch its tenth batch of Starlink satellites June 26
However, bad weather threatens the launch – it only has a 40% chance of liftoff
Isolated storms in the area could bring heavy cloud cover and lightning
If all goes well, this batch will bring the total of satellites to nearly 600

By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Published: 19:46 BST, 25 June 2020 | Updated: 23:29 BST, 25 June 2020

Poor weather seems to have it out for SpaceX – storms delayed the firm’s historical mission to the International Space Station and now they threaten the next Starlink satellite launch.

The company is set to send its tenth batch June 26, but forecasts show the Falcon 9 has just a 40 percent chance of taking off from Kennedy Space Center.

Isolated storms a predicted to rip through the area with heavy cloud cover and possible lighting, which could keep the Falcon 9 grounded.

The mission brings the space-based internet constellation to nearly 600 and will also carry two 110-pound observation satellites as part of the SpaceX rideshare program.

SpaceX is set to send its tenth batch June 26, but forecasts show the Falcon 9 has just a 40 percent chance of taking off from Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX has accelerated its efforts over the past month, sending dozens of Starlinks to orbit every week to create its global internet network.

The Elon Musk-owned aerospace company is also inviting those interested in the service since up ‘to get updates on Starlink news and service availability in your area,’ according to SpaceX.

The beta is expected to open up in later this summer or in early fall and will have about 800 satellites in total.

‘Private beta testing is expected to begin later this summer, followed by public beta testing, starting with higher latitudes,’ SpaceX said in an email sent to those who signed up

The Elon Musk-owned aerospace company is also inviting those interested in the service since up ‘to get updates on Starlink news and service availability in your area,’ according to SpaceX

The mission brings the space-based internet constellation to nearly 600 and will also carry two 110-pound observation satellites as part of the SpaceX rideshare program

Friday’s launch brings SpaceX one-step closer to beaming high speed broadband down from space and into the homes of people across the globe.

If all goes well, the launch is set to kickoff at 4:18pm at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida.

Along with the new batch of Starlink devices will be two other satellites developed by Seattle-based BlackSky, which offers imaging and global monitoring services.

BlackSky has four satellites in orbit from launches in 2018 and 2019 that were built in-house by Spaceflight Industries.

The company hopes to have 16 satellites in low Earth orbit by early 2021.

BlackSky is taking advantage of SpaceX’s rideshare program, which acts like Uber but for payloads into space.

Companies reserve a spot on the Falcon 9, which cost as low as $1 million.

Poor weather conditions plagued the NASA-Space X mission in May, which brought American astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station

SpaceX recently boasted on Twitter that it has more than 100 spacecraft have signed up to fly on the Falcon 9.

Poor weather conditions plagued the NASA-Space X mission in May, which brought American astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station.

The Launch America mission was set to take place on May 28, but the threat of lightning forced the team to delay launch until May 30.

However, on Saturday, the Falcon 9 had just a 50 percent chance of heading into orbit.

About 45 minutes to launch, all requirements went from red to green and a SpaceX official said ‘weather is a go.’

ELON MUSK’S SPACEX SET TO BRING BROADBAND INTERNET TO THE WORLD WITH ITS STARLINK CONSTELLATION OF SATELLITS

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched the fifth batch of its ‘Starlink’ space internet satellites – taking the total to 300.

They form a constellation of thousands of satellites, designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit.

The constellation, informally known as Starlink, and under development at SpaceX’s facilities in Redmond, Washington.

Its goal is to beam superfast internet into your home from space.

While satellite internet has been around for a while, it has suffered from high latency and unreliable connections.

Starlink is different. SpaceX says putting a ‘constellation’ of satellites in low earth orbit would provide high-speed, cable-like internet all over the world.

The billionaire’s company wants to create the global system to help it generate more cash.

Musk has previously said the venture could give three billion people who currently do not have access to the internet a cheap way of getting online.

It could also help fund a future city on Mars.

Helping humanity reach the red planet is one of Musk’s long-stated aims and was what inspired him to start SpaceX.

The company recently filed plans with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch 4,425 satellites into orbit above the Earth – three times as many that are currently in operation.

‘Once fully deployed, the SpaceX system will pass over virtually all parts of the Earth’s surface and therefore, in principle, have the ability to provide ubiquitous global service,’ the firm said.

‘Every point on the Earth’s surface will see, at all times, a SpaceX satellite.’

The network will provide internet access to the US and the rest of the world, it added.

It is expected to take more than five years and $9.8 billion (£7.1bn) of investment, although satellite internet has proved an expensive market in the past and analysts expect the final bill will be higher.

Musk compared the project to ‘rebuilding the internet in space’, as it would reduce reliance on the existing network of undersea fibre-optic cables which criss-cross the planet.

In the US, the FCC welcomed the scheme as a way to provide internet connections to more people.

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