NASA may have been forced to repeatedly push out the launch of its Artemis mission, but Elon Musk’s SpaceX is continuing to deploy its Starlink satellites into orbit at an astounding rate.
After NASA twice postponed the launch of Artemis-1, SpaceX’s Falcon-9 carried 51 Starlink satellites into orbit in under 32 hours. The launch occurred on Sunday evening (September 4), from the US’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Base.
The first stage booster rocket was successfully landed by the corporation. Its seventh flight was this one.
To date, SpaceX has carried out 61 Starlink launches. This year, the company has carried out 26 launches. Starlink satellites are part of a constellation of satellites SpaceX aims to establish around the Earth.
2019 saw the first operational deployment. Astronomer Jonathan McDowell has kept track of the figures and found that more than 3200 satellites have been launched into orbit to date.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX received permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch 2,824 satellites in a lower altitude in 2021 to bring high-speed broadband internet to people who do not currently have access to it.
The FCC’s clearance was contested by rivals Viasat Inc. and DISH Network Corp., but a U.S. appeals court recently affirmed the FCC judgement.
The decision, according to Viasat, ‘is a setback for both space safety and environmental conservation,’ it stated.
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