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For the second consecutive day, SpaceX canceled an attempt to launch the Falcon 9 in Cape Canaveral on Thursday night, this time to complete a software update of the company's first 60 satellites on the Starlink network to provide high-speed Internet service from orbit.
SpaceX canceled the Thursday night launch attempt at 22:30. EDT (02:30 GMT Friday), about three hours before the launch window opens.
In a tweet, the company said it was "going out to update the satellite software and check it all again".
The Falcon 9 rocket launch payload is comprised of 60 flat-panel satellites to build SpaceX's Starlink network, a fleet of thousands of small spacecraft in the coming years, offering broadband connectivity to consumers around the world.
SpaceX has not set a new launch date for the mission, the first launch of Falcon 9 dedicated to the Starlink project.
"We always want to do everything we can on the ground to maximize the success of the mission, the next launch opportunity in about a week," SpaceX tweeted.
The 60 satellites aboard the Falcon 9 were built at a new SpaceX facility in Redmond, Washington. The spacecraft are equipped with high power phased array antennas for broadcasting Internet signals and ionic thrusters to krypton.
The Falcon 9 rocket will release the satellites, each weighing about 227 kg, about an hour after takeoff from Cape Canaveral.
The 60 satellites will separate from the top floor of the Falcon 9 in a unique way, according to Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX.
"This will be a slightly different deployment than the one people are used to," Musk told reporters Wednesday during a conference call. "We are going to take a very slow tour of deployment, and each of the satellites in the stack has a slightly different rotational inertia.
"So there is no specific satellite-based deployment mechanism based on springs," he said. The satellites will somehow be deployed, it's almost like showing off a deck of cards on a table. It will be a bit weird compared to normal satellite deployments. "
Multi-charge dispensers launched above rockets generally launch satellites in pairs, or one at a time, with a physical separation mechanism, such as a spring or pyrotechnic locks.
The SpaceX webcast will show the deployment through the sight of a camera mounted on the upper stage of the rocket.
"There may be actually a small amount of contact between the satellites, but it's very, very slow, and the satellites are designed to handle it," Musk said. "But we wanted to avoid having 60 different deployment mechanisms for satellites. We expect them to light up shortly after deployment. They will begin to warm up the ion reader and undergo many health checks. "
The 60 Starlink satellites are based on a new design designed by SpaceX engineers. They are lighter and use a separation scheme different from that of two prototypes Starlink SpaceX satellites launched last year.
"We should know if they are in good shape about two or three hours after deployment, so three or four hours after launch," he said.
The launch of the Falcon 9 will aim to release Starlink satellites approximately 440 km above the Earth. The spacecraft's own propellants will orbit 550 km to launch technology demonstration trials.
"This is one of the most challenging engineering projects I have ever seen, and it has been very well executed," said Musk. "There are a lot of new technologies here, and some of these satellites may not work, and it's a small possibility that not all satellites will work.
"We do not want to count anything until everything is ready, but it is, I think, of superb design and we have made every effort to maximize the chances of success", did he declare.
Past initiatives aimed at creating a vast network of low-Earth-orbit communications satellites at a regime hundreds of kilometers from Earth have encountered technical and financial difficulties. Traditional communication satellites fly in geostationary orbits greater than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above the equator, with a single spacecraft covering a vast geographic area.
In lower orbits, Starlink satellites will bounce signals from one user to another via a complex network of radio connections by ground stations and, possibly, cross-satellite laser links.
"The goal of the Starlink system is to provide high bandwidth and low latency connectivity, ideally anywhere in the world, subject to regulatory approval, to provide connectivity to people who do not have no connectivity today or are extremely expensive and unreliable. in addition to offering options to people who may have connectivity today in the developed regions of the world, but it is very expensive, "said Musk. "This will provide them with a competitive option."
Starlink is one of the many companies working on the constellations of small broadband satellites in low Earth orbit. OneWeb launched its first six satellites in February and plans to send hundreds more in orbit over the next two years. Amazon plans to create a network of thousands of satellites for the Internet service.
"There is a lot of fundamental goodness about Starlink," he said. "We just want to make sure the appropriate warnings are there. There is a lot of technology, it's very difficult, and frankly, in the past, the success of communications constellations in low Earth orbit, I think none of them have managed to function without going bankrupt. "
SpaceX has obtained regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission for nearly 12,000 Starlink satellites transmitting in Ku, B and Ka frequencies, with spacecraft groups positioned at different altitudes in a low Earth orbit. But the primary goal is to launch hundreds of satellites to establish a network covering most of the world's population.
"It's important to distinguish between the initial operational capability, which is around the 400-satellite level, and then, the significant operational capability is about 800 satellite levels. Subsequently, it's about adding more and more satellites and other orbital aircraft to more system usage and the bandwidth is limited, "said Musk. "We do not need nearly 10,000 satellites to be effective. … We will start selling our service from the 400th satellite launch, and then ensure that our satellite production and launch stays ahead of user demand. "
After the first launch of Starlink, SpaceX plans to start construction this year of the first phase of the network in orbit 341 miles above Earth, between two and six additional Starlink missions, according to Gwynne Shotwell, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX.
"This next batch of satellites will really be a demonstration set to allow us to see the deployment scheme and start pulling our network together," said Shotwell at an industry conference last week. .
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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @ StephenClark1.
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