- SpaceX head Elon Musk said that the company is working on fixing the brightness of the company’s Starlink satellites
Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX, said that the company is working on fixing the brightness of the company’s satellites. The Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX are intended to provide global Internet access and it’s most recent satellite launch was on Wednesday.
Why are the satellites very bright? In response to a question about it on Twitter, Musk said it was due to the angle of the satellite solar panels and SpaceX is in the process of fixing it now.
SpaceX is planning to deploy a network of 12,000 satellites to beam broadband Internet back to Earth. Most of the satellites that are currently visible launched in March.
However, the current orbital position of those satellites now makes it easier to see. These satellites are bright due to the size and distance from Earth.
To make the satellites less bright, SpaceX is working on a sunshade to reduce the reflection of the satellites for future launches:
Thanks! We are taking some key steps to reduce satellite brightness btw. Should be much less noticeable during orbit raise by changing solar panel angle & all sats get sunshades starting with launch 9.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2020
The sunshades that SpaceX is adding to the satellites are especially important for astronomers. Without the sunshades, the light reflection could affect the photos taken using cameras for outer space imagery.
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