depotoo
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SpaceX Will Make History with 60-Satellite Launch Tonight
Should be pretty cool. Hope it all goes well.
SpaceX will make some history tonight (May 23), if all goes according to plan.
A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying the first 60 satellites in SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation is scheduled to lift off at 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT on May 24) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Together, the five dozen spacecraft weigh about 18.5 tons (16.8 metric tons) — more than any other payload that SpaceX has ever launched, company founder and CEO Elon Musk said. (The previous high was 10.6 tons, or 9.6 metric tons, set in January 2017 with the launch of 10 Iridium NEXT communications satellites.)
Related: SpaceX's 1st Prototype Starlink Satellites Are Up and Running
SpaceX will also be treading new ground with the deployment of this Starlink batch. Rather than rely on 60 distinct spring-based deployment mechanisms, SpaceX will simply spin the satellites off the Falcon 9's upper stage.
Should be pretty cool. Hope it all goes well.
SpaceX will make some history tonight (May 23), if all goes according to plan.
A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying the first 60 satellites in SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation is scheduled to lift off at 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT on May 24) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Together, the five dozen spacecraft weigh about 18.5 tons (16.8 metric tons) — more than any other payload that SpaceX has ever launched, company founder and CEO Elon Musk said. (The previous high was 10.6 tons, or 9.6 metric tons, set in January 2017 with the launch of 10 Iridium NEXT communications satellites.)
Related: SpaceX's 1st Prototype Starlink Satellites Are Up and Running
SpaceX will also be treading new ground with the deployment of this Starlink batch. Rather than rely on 60 distinct spring-based deployment mechanisms, SpaceX will simply spin the satellites off the Falcon 9's upper stage.