SpaceX Launches 60 More Starlink Satellites In Orbit

By Amit Chowdhry • Nov 11, 2019

 

Earlier today, SpaceX launched a reusable rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, which was carrying 60 Starlink satellites into space. This was the second payload of Starlink — which is SpaceX’s planned constellation of tens of thousands of satellites that will beam Internet services around the world.

The first batch of Starlink satellites was launched in May. And a number of astronomers pointed out that the satellites were very bright.

This could be detrimental to scientific research and it changes the way that stars will be viewed. SpaceX acknowledged the issue and is looking into ways to reduce the negative impacts of Starlink.

SpaceX asked permission from the Federal Communications Commission to set up as many as 30,000 satellites total along with the 12,000 that were already approved. And if SpaceX gets those satellites approved, the constellation may have 8 times as many satellites as there are total in orbit right now.

Smith College professor of astronomy James Lowenthal told The New York Times that he knew something had shifted upon seeing the train of Starlink satellites appearing like false stars across the night sky over the spring. “I felt as if life as an astronomer and a lover of the night sky would never be the same,” said Lowenthal via NYT.

The Starlink nodes have moved to higher orbits so it is now invisible for the naked eye. But the satellites are still noticeable in places with darker skies.

SpaceX is working with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory to minimize the impacts of the Starlink satellites on the radio wavelengths used by astronomers. One of the ideas proposed was having the Earth-facing bases of the satellites painted black to reduce the reflection. Several astronomers pointed out that this idea would not work since telescopes would still pick up the Starlink objects even if they are darkened.

And avoiding the satellites would be challenging during twilight, which is a major problem since potentially hazardous asteroids and objects in the solar system are best viewed at that time. Plus SpaceX’s Starlink constellation initiative may encourage other companies such as Amazon and OneWeb to launch similar programs. If too many mega-constellations are set up, then it would make ground-based astronomy impossible.

“International space law is pretty wide open,” added Michigan State University professor and president of the American Astronomical Society Megan Donahue via NYT. Donahue pointed out that light pollution is a major problem since there is a lack of rules in place. So a path forward depends on the goodwill of space companies.

Here is a video of how the Starlink Mission works:

And here are the tweets SpaceX published during the launch:

Pulse 2.0 focuses on business news, profiles, and deal flow coverage.

© 2024 Pulse 2.0 LLC. All rights reserved.