SpaceX is set to launch yet another large batch of 47 Starlink internet satellites on June 22. A Falcon 9 rocket of the space firm will lift off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday at 12:49 pm IST (12:19 am local time) with the 47 Starlink satellites. In case the mission is delayed, a backup opportunity is available at 12:23 pm IST on June 23.
If all goes to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth eight minutes and 45 seconds after launch. It will touchdown on the SpaceX drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’, stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
The upper stage of the rocket will continue to carry the 47 Starlink satellites and deploy them in low Earth orbit about 19 minutes from the lift-off.
As per the mission description, this will be the third launch and landing for this particular booster rocket.
When and How to Watch?
Viewers can watch the launch live on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly through the company’s official website, at www.spacex.com/launches
The coverage will begin five minutes before lift-off.
Thursday's Starlink mission will mark a double early-morning space launch. In case of a successful launch from SpaceX, another launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket is scheduled for a classified satellite for the US National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station just six minutes later.
As of yet, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched nearly 4,600 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell. Out of the total, over 4,200 satellites are currently operational.
The company’s broadband mega constellation is expected to grow further in the future.
SpaceX has got the approval to deploy 12,000 Starlink satellites, and the company has further applied for permission to launch another 30,000 spacecraft in addition to that.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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