SpaceX Is A Few Starlink Launches Away To Providing Near-Global Internet Coverage, Next Launch Is Tomorrow

Featured Image Source: Starlink Render Created By ErcX @ErcXspace

SpaceX is a few Starlink launches away to providing near-global internet coverage. According to SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, the company has around 1,320 of its version 1.0 Starlink satellites in orbit right now, out of the 1,385 satellites it has deployed. Shotwell says they aim to achieve “full connectivity globally” after about 28 Starlink launches. The company has already launched 23 Starlink satellite fleets and is around four launches away from reaching a wider broadband coverage. However, the Starlink constellation will have over 12,000 satellites in orbit to provide a reliable internet service. Currently, SpaceX is offering Starlink Beta service to customers who pre-order via Starlink.com on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. As more satellites are deployed, more customers will be able to access the service. SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently said that “most of Earth" will have coverage "by end of year, all by next year, then it’s about densifying coverage.” Starlink is already providing service to limited customers in northern United States, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, and United Kingdom. By summer other European regions, like Portugal, will have broadband coverage. 

SpaceX is ready to deploy the 24th batch of 60 internet-beaming satellites tomorrow, Wednesday, April 7. A previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket will propel the satellite fleet to low Earth orbit at 12:34 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. A backup launch opportunity is also scheduled for Thursday, April 8 at 12:12 p.m. EDT. The U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron forecasts 90% ‘GO’ weather conditions for liftoff tomorrow.

The first-stage rocket booster that will conduct the 24th Starlink mission is identified as booster B1058-7. It previously launched six missions; First, it launched the Demo-2 mission that launched veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station in 2020. Second, it deployed the ANASIS-II communications satellite for South Korea. Third, it deployed a cargo Dragon to ISS for SpaceX’s 21st NASA Commercial Resupply Service mission. For its fourth mission, B1058 conducted SpaceX’s first Rideshare program Transporter-1 mission carrying a bit over 100 satellites to orbit; and it also deployed a pair of Starlink missions. Now, B1058-7 will liftoff for its seventh flight. The company plans to recover the first-stage booster again by landing it on the 'Of Course I Still Love You’ autonomous droneship, waiting around 630-kilometers downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. “One half of Falcon 9’s fairing previously supported launch of AMOS-17 and two Starlink missions, and the other previously supported a Starlink mission,” SpaceX stated. Reusing Falcon 9 boosters and fairings enables SpaceX to reduce the cost of spaceflight. You can watch the upcoming Starlink mission in the video below, courtesy of SpaceX.

Featured Image Source: Starlink Render Created By ErcX @ErcXspace