Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch 400+ satellites in bold push to transform Alaska's internet connectivity
SpaceX's plans to place over 400 satellites into this polar orbit by year's end indicate a major emphasis on West Coast launches
Elon Musk's startup company SpaceX on Friday added 24 new Starlink satellites to its orbital network on a launch from California, expanding its global network to over 7,900 satellites. The launch, which occurred shortly after sunset, marked the addition of these satellites to the company's growing constellation.
Identified as Starlink 17-3, the mission was executed using the Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted off from the Space Launch Complex 4 East at precisely 8:52 p.m. PDT. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had confirmed that his company would launch the 10th test flight of Starship in approximately three weeks, making it the fourth launch of the year for the fully reusable mega-rocket.
ALSO READ: 460,000 student loan borrowers to be kicked off from repayment plan? Know the big changes from August 1According to Space.Com, the company's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:52 p.m. local (11:52 p.m. EDT or 0352 GMT on July 19) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. At about nine minutes into the flight, the booster's upper stage delivered the two dozen satellites to space. The flight was on track to deploy the Starlink spacecraft into low Earth orbit an hour later, the report said.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster being used on this mission, tail number B1082, launched for a 14th time. Its previous missions include NROL-145, USSF-62 and OneWeb #20.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1082 landed on the droneship, 'Of Course I Still Love You.' This marked the 141st booster landing on this vessel and the 477th booster landing to date.SpaceX is also launching satellites into polar orbits to improve connectivity in Alaska and high-latitude regions. By the end of 2025, SpaceX plans to launch more than 400 more such satellites, doubling the opportunities for northerners.
In an update posted to its Starlink website on Monday, July 14, SpaceX said part of its plan to further scale up its Starlink network, it planned to deploy hundreds of satellites into a polar orbit to improve connectivity in polar regions, like Alaska.
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'We plan to launch more than 400 additional satellites to the polar inclination by the end of 2025 alone, which will more than double the capacity for Alaskan customers alone, as well as other high latitude locations,' SpaceX wrote. 'The first of these additional satellites have begun to serve Alaskan users already, nearly doubling median peak-hour download speeds over the past month.'With the latest launch on Friday (designated 17-3), SpaceX has now deployed over 7,965 active Starlink satellites out of the more than 9,200 launched since 2019. The Starlink network provides broadband internet in areas with limited or no connectivity, and also supports direct-to-cell service for select phones and carriers. The reference to the first satellite in this series ties back to the Starlink 17-1 mission on May 27, which also utilized booster B1082 and deployed 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into a 97-degree-inclined polar orbit.SpaceX's plans to place over 400 satellites into this polar orbit by year's end indicate a major emphasis on West Coast launches. Achieving this target will require at least 16 launches, each carrying 24 or more satellites.Following Friday night's launch, SpaceX is shifting its focus to a NASA rideshare mission, which will carry the agency's TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) payload into orbit.
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