Starlink: SpaceX to launch next batch of 60 satellites this week

This will mark the eighth launch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit. SpaceX will eventually have 12 000 satellites in orbit, with the approval of an additional 30 000 satellites still pending.

SpaceX prepares for next Starlink launch

As reported by Space.com, SpaceX is set to launch another batch of 60 satellites on 7 May 2020 at 13:30 South African Standard Time (SAST.)

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in April that he hopes to test a new way to reduce the brightness of the company’s Starlink satellites on the next launch, called VisorSat. Musk explained:

“Our objectives, generally, are to make the satellites invisible to the naked eye within a week, and to minimize the impact on astronomy, especially so that we do not saturate observatory detectors and inhibit discoveries”.

Stay tuned, we will add the live stream here as soon as it becomes available.

Starlink trail visible from Earth

Residents in the northern hemisphere report that the Starlink trail is visible from Earth; the satellites will generally appear in the west or south-west and head east to northeast.

The lights fly across the night sky in formation, however, it’s not visible from to southern hemisphere just yet. The Starlink satellites can be monitored via Find Starlink.

According to Find Starlink, the trail won’t be visible in South Africa during the next five days, however, this may change in the coming weeks due to changing orbits. We will report back once Starlink is in our neck of the universe.

Watch: SpaceX Starlink mission

What is Starlink?

For those not in the know, the Starlink initiative will eventually see 4 409 satellites launched into orbit; followed by an additional 7 518 that will do their work at a slightly lower altitude.

The satellite system will provide global internet coverage, and many of the satellites are operational already. Musk once tweeted while being connected to the network.

SpaceX confirmed in a press release earlier this year that the company will be taken steps to “responsibly scale Starlink’s total network capacity and data density” to meet growth of users’ anticipated needs.

Musk also plans of making it to Mars sooner rather than later, and the Starship mission is the spaceship that will get humanity to the red planet. Speaking at a recent event, Musk said:

“I’m very excited about the future of space-based telescopes that could be very large. I think within a couple of years. It allows for space telescopes to be transported to orbit at probably an order of magnitude lower cost than in the past.”