SpaceX will hit a big round-number milestone today (Oct. 18), and you can watch it happen live.
A hawk 9 The rocket carrying SpaceX’s 28 starlink Internet satellites to launch from California Vandenberg Space Force Base today, during a four-hour window that opens at 7:46 p.m. EDT (2346 GMT; 4:46 p.m. local California time).
spacex 9,988 Starlink satellites have been launched so far, according to Astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell. So today’s launch – which you can watch via the company its website Or X account – will take that number above $10,000.
SpaceX launches its first two Starlink prototypes low earth orbit in (LEO) February 2018, Then 15 months later construction of the megaconstellation began in earnest. The company first offered Starlink service with public beta testing in October 2020 and began a commercial rollout the following year.
Starlink now serves millions of customers around the world, and SpaceX continues to strengthen that product by sending more and more satellites to the final frontier.
Speed has recently reached extraordinary levels: SpaceX launches 89 Starlink missions in 2024 And this year this number has already been crossed. And don’t expect it to stop anytime soon: SpaceX already has permission to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites, and the megaconstellation could eventually include more than 30,000 spacecraft.
According to McDowell, the majority of the 9,988 Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX so far are active – 8,610 are currently operational. Most of the others have been destroyed, directed to burning. earth’s atmosphere(Each Starlink satellite has an operational life of about five years.)
previous booster 1088 missions
If everything goes according to plan today, the Falcon 9 first stage will return to Earth today, landing in the Pacific Ocean aboard the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” about 8.5 minutes after takeoff.
This will be the 11th launch and touchdown of this particular booster, designated 1088.
Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage will continue to carry the 28 Starlink satellites to LEO, where they will be deployed about 60 minutes after launch.
