After Starlink activation in Iran, Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch 52 satellites on Sept 25

SpaceX is targeting the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket with 52 new Starlink satellites in the early hours of September 25. The two-stage rocket will lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station when the launch window opens at 5:02 am IST. Roughly nine minutes after the launch, the Falcon 9 booster will make its landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. You can watch the live webcast of the launch which will begin five minutes prior to the lift-off. 

Starlink offers high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe through the constellation of satellites operating in a low orbit around the Earth. 

According to SpaceX, the booster being used for the forthcoming launch will fly for the fourth time as it has previously supported SES-22 and two Starlink missions. Notably, the September 25 launch will mark the company's 43rd mission of the year and will take the number of Starlink satellites in orbit close to 3,000. SpaceX is increasing the number of orbital launches to expand the constellation of internet-providing satellites for offering services in the most remote areas of the world. 

Recently, the firm announced that Starlink is now available on all seven continents including Antarctica, however, the number of countries using its services is 36 (as of July this year). The latest country to be using Starlink is Iran, where the regime has shut down internet services. Elon Musk, earlier in the day, announced that Starlink has been activated in the country where an intense protest is being carried out over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

Iran became the second country where Starlink is beaming the internet before schedule, the first being Ukraine, where the services were activated following Russia's invasion on February 24. The internet activation in Iran comes a few days after Musk said that he would seek an exemption from sanctions to offer broadband service in the country.

Image: SpaceX