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On May 23, SpaceX launched its first 60 Starlink satellites in orbit.
Image credit: Marco Langbroek, Leiden, Netherlands.
Dubai: A strange row of lights has swept the night sky in recent days, but the phenomenon is not limited to that of the UAE.
People around the world turned to the stars to catch the light train that passed them. But the glow was not caused by the stars but by the satellite train of Elon Musk.
On May 23, SpaceX put into orbit its first 60 Starlink satellites – the first tranche of the 12,000 satellite project, which is expected to be completed by 2025 at a cost of $ 10 billion. The project, according to SpaceX's chief executive, Musk, aims to provide Internet access to billions of people around the world at a lower cost.
One day after the launch, the Netherlands-based satellite tracker Marco Langbroek captured a sequence of the satellite train, which stunned the fans of space.
The video was posted on Langbroek's blog, SatTrackCam:
Langbroek described on his blog how he was able to calculate the precise moment when the satellite train passed over his head.
"There were no orbital elements yet for the objects available on Space-Track, but on the basis of orbital information (inclination of 53 degrees, initially at 440 km altitude), j & rsquo; Had calculated a research orbit and kept me ready with my camera.
"My search orbit turned out to be not too bad: very close to the sky's trajectory and with objects passing about 3 minutes earlier than expected. And what a SPECTACULAR view! It started with two weak, flashing objects moving in the field of vision. Then, a few tens of seconds later, my jaw dropped when the "train" entered the field of vision, "he said.
Several days after the launch of the project, the satellite train quickly crossed the skies of the United Arab Emirates and the Arab region.
Mohammad Shawkat Odeh, director of the International Center for Astronomy, said the satellites launched last week looked like faint stars that were all moving at the same speed and in the same direction.
They could not, however, be seen in bright cities and needed a dark sky to be visible to the naked eye.
"The brightness of the satellites will gradually decrease as they reach their final destination, so that they will not be as bright as at the beginning. I think this particular incident has attracted worldwide attention because of its striking and unusual features, "said Odeh.
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