Published 18:55 IST, October 20th 2020
Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch 60 Starlink satellites on Oct 21; here's how to watch live
Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX is now reportedly planning to launch next batch of around 60 satellites from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
- Science News
- 2 min read
After successfully launching a full stack of Starlink internet satellites on October 18, Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX is now reportedly planning to launch next batch of around 60 satellites from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Quoting a list of Federal Aviation Administration airspace closures, CNET reported that the 15th batch of internet satellites will lift off at 10:06 pm IST. The launch will be live-streamed on SpaceX official Twitter handle @SpaceX. You can also follow it at spacex.com/launches.
Earlier on October 18, SpaceX launched its 14th group of 60 satellites from Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Complex 38A at Kennedy Space Center. The successful launch and deployment of Starlink satellites boosted the number of satellites in orbit to nearly 800. Less than 10-minutes after the launch, Falcon 9 first stage booster returned and landed on SpaceX’s ocean-faring drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’, positioned out in the Atlantic.
Musk had said that launch would soon allow it to ‘roll out a fairly wide public’ test in the northern US and ‘hopefully’ in southern Canada. The company had said that emergency responders in northern Washington State had used the Starlink service in wildfire-stricken areas. As the Starlink network is still in its early stages, the team continues to test the system, collecting latency data and performing speed tests of the service.
Musk's dream project
The Starlink team also recently installed Starlinks on the Administrative Center building and about 20 private homes on the Hoh Tribe Reservation, located in a remote area of western Washington State where internet access is limited or completely unavailable. It is Musk's dream project with a target of a massive constellation of as many as 12,000 satellites into space.
Even though the current plan is to deploy around 12,000 such satellites in the space, the company has stated that the ultimate goal is to take the same number up to 42,000. SpaceX is also sending out invitations to people who are interested in the potential low-cost internet service to apply for receiving updates on Starlink news and beta availability.
Updated 18:54 IST, October 20th 2020
