The space company SpaceX was forced to postpone the launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle until December 18, which will deliver 52 Starlink broadband satellites into Earth orbit. The launch will be made from the US Space Force complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Until the end of the year, SpaceX has two more launches planned: Falcon 9 will deliver the Turkish communications satellite Türksat 5b into orbit and will replenish the ISS crew. With these flights, the carrier rocket will make 31 launches in the current year, which is 5 launches more than in the previous year.
This satellite delivery is called Starlink 4-4. Falcon 9 will overcome an unusual trajectory for this type of flight, which covers the Baja California line. The rocket will leave the spacecraft 341 km above Earth, and then they will reach their working orbit 540 km above the planet's surface using ion thrusters. Falcon 9, after completing its mission, will land on a barge located in the Pacific Ocean.
With the upcoming launch, SpaceX will deliver more than 1.94 thousand Starlink satellites into orbit. The company began deploying space devices in May 2019. More than 1.46 thousand of them are already functioning, providing satellite Internet. The rest have not yet taken their places in the grouping at the moment, are not intended for Internet transmission or do not work.
SpaceX's vice president of commercial sales and Starlink, Jonathan Hofoller, said the company provides internet services to consumers in 20 countries. He estimates the total number of Starlink subscribers at 100 thousand people.
The company has permission from the US Federal Communications Commission to place almost 12,000 mini-satellites in orbit, but SpaceX wants to increase their number to 42,000.
The previous launch of the Starlink satellites took place on December 2, when Falcon-9 delivered 53 satellites into orbit. The next delivery of internet devices is slated for January 2022.
In early December, Hofeller announced that SpaceX had begun testing the Starlink system on airplanes. The company is in talks with several airlines. According to the vice president, SpaceX produces six satellites a week.
The week before last, in the first reading, State Duma deputies approved a bill providing for fines of up to 1 million rubles. for operators who use foreign satellite systems. The parliamentarians explain the expediency of the initiative by the protection of national security. Consideration of the document dragged on for a year and was postponed six times.
In early December, the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, announced the risk that SpaceX would take a dominant position in the new space economy. In his opinion, this will hinder fair competition.
bbabo.Net