SpaceX plans to launch one other massive batch of its Starlink web satellites to orbit on Sunday (Jan. 15), and you’ll watch the motion reside.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 51 of SpaceX’s Starlink web satellites is scheduled to elevate off from California’s Vandenberg Area Pressure Base Sunday at 11:18 a.m. EST (8:18 a.m. native California time; 1618 GMT).
Watch it reside right here at Area.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or instantly by way of the corporate (opens in new tab). Protection is predicted to start about 5 minutes earlier than liftoff.
The launch was initially focused for Monday evening (Jan. 9), however SpaceX stood down from that try as a result of dangerous climate. The corporate additionally scrubbed a possible strive on Tuesday evening (Jan. 10) to take extra time to look at knowledge from the Falcon 9’s higher stage (opens in new tab).
Associated: 10 bizarre issues about SpaceX’s Starlink web satellites
If all goes in line with plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will come again to Earth slightly below 9 minutes after launch on Sunday, touching down on the SpaceX droneship Of Course I Nonetheless Love You, which can be stationed within the Pacific Ocean.
It will likely be the ninth launch and touchdown for this explicit booster, in line with EverydayAstronaut.com (opens in new tab).
The Falcon 9’s higher stage, in the meantime, will haul the Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying all 51 of them 29 minutes after liftoff, in line with a SpaceX mission description (opens in new tab).
Starlink is SpaceX’s broadband constellation, which at present consists of greater than 3,300 operational satellites (opens in new tab).
That quantity is ever-increasing, as Sunday’s deliberate liftoff reveals, and should finally develop into actually staggering. SpaceX has approval to launch 12,000 Starlink spacecraft and has utilized for permission to loft almost 30,000 extra on high of that.
The Starlink launch would be the third of the week for SpaceX, if all goes in line with plan. A Falcon 9 launched 40 OneWeb web satellites from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station on Monday evening (Jan. 9). And Elon Musk’s firm plans to launch the USSF-67 mission for the U.S. Area Pressure on Saturday (Jan. 14) utilizing a Falcon Heavy rocket.
Editor’s word: This story was up to date at 10:50 p.m. ET on Jan. 9 with the brand new launch time of 12:35 a.m. EST. It was up to date once more at 12:15 a.m. ET on Jan. 10 with the information that SpaceX determined to stand down from the Monday evening/Tuesday morning try (opens in new tab) as a result of dangerous climate. It was up to date once more at 10:50 p.m. ET on Jan. 10 with the information that SpaceX had canceled that day’s potential try to look at knowledge from the rocket’s higher stage, then once more at 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 11 with information of the brand new goal date of Jan. 14, after which once more at 4 p.m. ET on Jan. 11 with information of the shift to Jan. 15.
Mike Wall is the creator of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a ebook in regards to the seek for alien life. Observe him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Fb (opens in new tab).