Starlink, a division of Elon Musks’ company SpaceX, hopes to bring high-speed satellite internet access to many of the 3.7 billion people on Earth who currently do not have access to an internet connection at all.
With the recent launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX has now surpassed 4,000 satellites in orbit, bringing them a step closer to their goal.
The recent mission added another 56 Starlink internet satellites to their constellation, marking the company’s fourth successful mission in less than a week.
The Falcon 9 Rocket Launch
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday 4th May, at 3:31 a.m. EDT, making it SpaceX’s 30th mission of the year.
The rocket launch, numbered 5-6 in SpaceX’s mission manifest, was a vehicle for 56 satellites, taking them to an initial “parking spot” 270 miles (440 kilometres) from Earth.
From here, satellites will unfurl their solar panels and head toward their position around the globe in preparation to provide internet access to those in rural and remote locations willing to pay the one-time set-up fee of $599 and a monthly subscription fee starting at $110.
The total number of launches by SpaceX is now at 4,340.
There are currently 3,900 functioning Starlink satellites in space which make up 3,400 operational satellites and another 400 moving toward their operational orbits, reports spaceflightnow.com.
The rest of the satellites were either decommissioned or de-orbited after launch due to technical issues.
What Can We Expect From Starlink This Year?
SpaceX has announced some lofty goals for 2023.
The recent launch of Falcon 9 marks the company’s 30th launch of the year already, which puts them on pace for nearly 100 rocket flights in 2023.
The company was given the authorization to launch its second-generation network, which promises to provide even faster speeds to even more users around the world.
“With the recent authorization of our second-generation network, or “Gen2,” SpaceX will provide even faster speeds to more users. This new authorization enables SpaceX to launch additional, much-improved spacecraft with significantly more throughput per satellite than the first-generation systems. For the end consumer, this means more bandwidth and increased reliability. As a result, millions of more people will have access to high-speed internet no matter where they live.” A resource released by Starlink in February states.
SpaceX plans to conduct further launches and improve internet connection speeds this year. It currently offers the service for residential and commercial purposes, although the majority of its users are residential.
The company currently provides satellite Internet access coverage to over 53 countries and plans to reach more people in remote areas. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023.
SpaceX definitely appears to be moving at a fast pace, and if current progress is anything to go by, we should see some exciting announcements coming this year. If you want to learn more about how Starlink works, you can read more about their technology on the Starlink website.
A replay of Thursday’s launch can be watched via spacenewsnow.com on their YouTube channel.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on SpaceX and Starklink developments.
