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As wild as it may seem, the race to create a functional Internet space is underway – and SpaceX is taking a decisive step with the launch of 60 (!) Satellites tomorrow that will form the first wave of its Starlink constellation. This is an extremely important and incredibly complex launch for the company – which should be worth launching.
A hawk 9 charged to the gills with the Starlink flat test satellites (this is a "production model" but no final material), it is vertical at launch point 40 in Cape Canaveral. He has completed his static fire test and should have a window for launch tomorrow, weather permitting.
The construction of satellite constellations of several hundred or thousands of people is considered by many major corporations and investors as the next major phase of connectivity – although it takes years and billions of dollars.
OneWeb, perhaps SpaceX's biggest competitor in the field, has just secured $ 1.25 billion in financing after the launch of the first six satellites in March out of a total of 650. Jeff Bezos announced that Amazon is would join the fray with the proposed project Kuiper to 3,236 satellites. Ubiquitilink has a totally different approach. And many others take smaller segments, such as less expensive or domain-specific networks.
Needless to say, this is an exciting area, but today's launch is particularly interesting as it is very important for SpaceX. If this does not go well, Starlink's projects could be delayed long enough to give a competitive advantage.
The satellites stacked up in the payload fairing of Falcon 9. "Well adjusted," said CEO Elon Musk.
SpaceX did not explain exactly how the 60 satellites will be distributed in their respective orbits, but the founder and CEO, Elon Musk, pointed out on Twitter that there was "no distributor". Of course, there must be some sort of distributor – these things are not going to just jump on their own accord. They are stuffed there like cores on an ear of corn, and each one probably has a small spring that sends them at a definite speed.
Two prototypes of satellites, Tintin-A and B, have been in orbit since the beginning of last year and have undoubtedly provided a lot of useful information for the Starlink program. But the 60 on board tomorrow's launch are not final gear. Although Musk noted that it was a "production design," Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said they were still test models.
"This next batch of satellites will really be a demonstration set to allow us to see the deployment scheme and start assembling our network," she told the Satellite 2019 conference in Washington, DC – they apparently would not inter-satellite links but would otherwise be functional. I asked SpaceX for more information about this.
This makes sense: If you plan to put thousands (perhaps even 12,000) into orbit of satellites, you have to do large scale testing and production equipment.
And for those who are worried about the possibility of overpopulation in orbit – it's absolutely something to consider, but many of these satellites will fly at extremely low altitudes; at 550 kilometers altitude, these tiny satellites will naturally be de-orbited in a few years. Even OneWeb's 1,100-kilometer websites are not as high: geosynchronous satellites exceed 35,000 kilometers. This does not mean that there is no risk, but that failed or abandoned satellites will not stay long.
Do not expect to start your Starlink connection anytime soon. It would take a minimum of 6 other launches like this – a total of 420, a happy coincidence for Musk – to provide "minor" coverage. This would probably only concern the tests, not the commercial service. This would require 12 additional launches, and dozens more to make it competitive with terrestrial broadband.
Even if it will take years to succeed, this is the plan. And at that moment, others will also have accelerated their operations. It's an exciting time for space and connectivity.
No launch time has been set at the time of writing this article. Takeoff is only scheduled for Wednesday, March 15th. Since it is not necessary to synchronize the launch with the movement of a particular celestial body, T-0 should be flexible enough and SpaceX will probably expect the best time and visibility. Delays are always a possibility, however, so do not be surprised if this is postponed until later in the week.
As always, you'll be able to watch the launch on the SpaceX website, but I'll update this post with the live video link as soon as it's available.
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