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CAP CANAVERAL, Florida – SpaceX will launch its first batch of Starlink satellites in 2021 on Monday, January 18 to expand the company’s growing mega-stellation and you can watch the action live online.
The Hawthorne, Calif.-Based company loft 60 Starlink Internet satellites on its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket from the historic NASA Pad 39A here at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:45 a.m. EDT (2:22 p.m. GMT).
You can watch the launch live here and on the Space.com homepage, courtesy of SpaceX, from about 15 minutes before takeoff. You can also watch the launch directly via SpaceX.
Related: SpaceX’s Starlink satellite mega-constellation launches in photos
SpaceX already has a launch under its belt this year and is looking to pick up the pace. 2020 was a record year for the private spaceflight company, which included two different astronaut missions to the International Space Station – the first for a commercial company.
It was also the company’s busiest launch year to date, with a record 26 flights, breaking the previous record of 18 set in 2018. This year, SpaceX has even bigger ambitions as the company plans to launch 40 rockets between its launch sites in California and Florida. .
After takeoff on Monday, the first stage of the Falcon 9 is expected to land on SpaceX’s drone, “Just Read the Instructions,” in the Atlantic Ocean. (SpaceX’s main drone, “Of course, I still love you,” is undergoing maintenance before returning to service after a busy year.) If successful, the landing will mark the 72nd recovery of a first stage thruster for the Californian rocket maker.
The rocket presented in this launch will be another record accelerator. Known as the B1051, this flight-proven thruster will embark on its eighth flight – the first in SpaceX’s fleet to do so. It will also mark one of SpaceX’s shortest delays between flights, as the latter flew just over a month ago.
To date, the B1051 has carried an assortment of payloads, including an unequipped Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station in a 2019 flight test, followed by a trio of observation satellites. Earth for Canada as well as four different Starlink missions. Most recently it was carrying a 15,432 lb. (7000 kilograms) satellite in orbit for Sirius XM, which will deliver the content to Sirius subscribers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.
Related: See the evolution of SpaceX rockets in pictures
SpaceX created its Starlink Internet program to connect users around the world and provide reliable and affordable Internet service, primarily in remote and rural areas. By using a small terminal (no larger than a laptop), ground users will be able to connect to the ever-expanding network. Founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon musk said the company needs to launch between 500 and 800 satellites to start rolling out the service.
To date, SpaceX has put more than 1,000 Internet broadcast satellites into orbit, with the goal of filling its initial planned constellation of 1,440 spacecraft. SpaceX has already started beta testing of its space Internet service, and the initial testing phase has shown the service to be reliable.
The phase is going so well that SpaceX has even started offering UK users to help them with beta testing. The company was licensed to start operating in the UK last year, thanks to local telecommunications regulator Ofcom.
Related: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites in dazzling nighttime takeoff
Flight milestones
Monday’s launch marks the 102nd total flight for SpaceX’s double-decker Falcon 9 rocket workhorse, as well as the 51st ebb of a Falcon 9 rocket since the company began salvaging boosters in 2015.
Over the past five years, the company has honed its recovery efforts, while continuing to prove the reliability of the Falcon 9. Flying with previously piloted boosters has now become mainstream for SpaceX and has allowed the company to launch its rockets. at a record pace.
To date, SpaceX has managed to land its first stage boosters 71 times. Now that the company has two fully operational drone landing pads – “Sure, I still love you” and “Just read the directions” – in Florida it is able to launch (and land ) more rockets. The new drone ship on the block, “Just Read the Instructions”, is already in the recovery area awaiting its turn to catch B1051 when it returns to Earth on Monday.
Related: Why SpaceX’s Starlink satellites caught astronomers off guard
Drop fairings
SpaceX is expected to continue its tradition of salvaging the Falcon 9’s payload fairing, or nose cone, on this flight. The company owns two boats equipped with nets – called GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief – that he uses to hang the fairings as they fall back to Earth in two pieces.
Each piece of the shell-shaped hardware, which costs around $ 6 million combined, is equipped with software that directs it to the recovery area, and a parachute system that allows them to land smoothly in the ocean or the net stretched out of GO Mrs. Tree and GO Mrs. Chief.
Boats are also able to pick up fairings out of the water as catching in flight is tricky and depends on several factors, such as weather and winds. In general, the team decides if they will catch or win on launch day. And these recovery efforts take place approximately 45 minutes after takeoff.
Currently, the weather is 70% for the launch opportunity on Monday, with the only weather issues being the potential for cumulus clouds over the launch site. There is a backup start time on Tuesday if needed. The launch weather that day is even better, with a 90% chance of favorable launch conditions.
If all goes according to plan, this could mark the first of two SpaceX launches in Florida this week. The Hawthorne, Calif., Company plans to launch a ridesharing mission Thursday, Jan.21. And could end the month with another Starlink mission.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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