SpaceX has pushed back its fifth launch of Starlinks due to poor weather.
The firm announced that although the static fire of its Falcon 9 rocket is complete, the next batch of 60 satellites will not head for low-orbit until Sunday – the initial launch was set for Saturday.
The mission is set to kick off at 10:25 AM EST from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the weather, as of now, is 90 percent favorable for takeoff.
If all goes according to plan, this batch will bring the total Starlink constellation to 300 – putting the firm on track to have 1,500 satellites in low-orbit by the end of 2020.
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SpaceX announced on Twitter that although the static fire of its Falcon 9 rocket is complete, the next batch of 60 satellites will not head for low-orbit until Sunday – the initial launch was set for Saturday
SpaceX intends ultimately to launch thousands of satellites to beam broadband around the globe.
If all continues on track for the constellation, 100 or more such Starlink launches could occur in the future.
If the firm can launch hit its 1,500 this year, it will be able to open access to North America.
The firm has already received approval to launch 12,000 of its satellites, but is waiting for the authorization of another 30,000.
Sunday’s launch is set to kick off at 10:25 AM EST from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the weather, as of now, is 90 percent favorable for takeoff. If all goes according to plan, this launch will bring the total Starlink constellation to 300
However, the mission has caused a stir among the astronomy community, as the 242 that are already in orbit are blocking the night sky and getting in the way of key scientific observations.
Because how close the devices are to Earth, it is necessary to have thousands of the devices floating around in low-orbit in order to blanket the globe with internet.
However, the mission has caused a stir among the astronomy community, as the 242 that are already in orbit are blocking the night sky and getting in the way of key scientific observations.
The development is seen as a new headache for researchers who already have to find workarounds to deal with objects cluttering their images of deep space.
Furthermore, the orbiting satellites can also interfere with the workings of ground-based radio telescopes that experts use to see more distant phenomena.
‘The night sky is a commons — and what we have here is a tragedy of the commons,’ Imperial College London astrophysicist Dave Clements told the BBC.
The proposed constellations, he added, ‘present a foreground between what we’re observing from the Earth and the rest of the Universe.’
‘So they get in the way of everything. And you’ll miss whatever is behind them, whether that’s a nearby potentially hazardous asteroid or the most distant quasar in the Universe.’
The orbiting satellites can also interfere with the workings of ground-based radio telescopes that experts use to see more distant phenomena. Pictured are a group of Starlinks packed and ready to head to low-orbit
The satellites will be a particular menace to large-scale surveys of the sky, like Chile’s planned Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST).
‘What we want to do with LSST and other telescopes is to make a real-time motion picture of how the sky is changing,’ explained Dr Clements.
‘Now we have these satellites that interrupt observations, and it’s like someone’s walking around firing a flashbulb every now and again.’
However, it seems these concerns and complaints have not fallen on deaf ears, as SpaceX is currently testing one satellite covered in a dark coating that is said to be made of anti-reflective material, which should reduce the glare given off by the current satellites.
Laura Forczyk, a space analyst, said the measures’ effectiveness is still uncertain.
‘SpaceX has not yet eased the minds of astronomers concerned about the reflectivity of their Starlink satellites,’ she told AFP.
‘The real test will be the days following launch when the smallsats are close together and in a lower altitude before ascending to their final orbit.’
‘Astronomers and stargazers will be able to compare the brightness of this current batch of smallsats compared to previous versions.’