SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to launch another Starlink satellite into space
The company has about 350 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is launching another round of Starlink satellites into space.
In previous launches, the satellites have been briefly visible from the ground as they orbit the earth. The satellite’s onboard thrusters then propel them to an altitude of about 340 miles, according to the company, where they become less visible from the ground.
“New T-0 of 3:30 p.m. EDT, 19:30 UTC, for today’s launch of Starlink” the company’s head wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. That tweet has since been shared more than 1,000 times.
WHY IS ELON MUSK LAUNCHING SO MANY SATELLITES INTO SPACE?
In January, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites into space aboard a reusable Falcon 9 rocket and it currently has about 350 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth. The company said it planned to launch about two dozen batches this year, each with 60 Starlink satellites.
The project, according to SpaceX's Starlink website is to deploy the “world's most advanced broadband” internet system. “With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable,” the site says.
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Musk has received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to launch 12,000 satellites into orbit. The mogul first announced a plan to launch thousands of satellites into space in 2015 as part of a broadband internet service project.
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