Skip to main content
https://www.highperformancecpmgate.com/rgeesizw1?key=a9d7b2ab045c91688419e8e18a006621

Watch SpaceX launch 60 more Starlink broadband satellites live

SpaceX is set to launch another batch of its Starlink broadband internet satellites this morning, after weather conditions shut down its last two attempts earlier this week. SpaceX is being especially picky about not just launch conditions – but also weather in the recovery area where it hopes to catch the fairing protecting the satellite cargo aboard this Falcon 9 launch.

That secondary mission of fairing recovery will see SpaceX try to catch the two large halves of the protective sheath that covers the rocket’s payload on its way through Earth’s atmosphere to its orbital destination. It uses ships with custom modifications (which essentially amount to large nets suspended above form their deck) designed specifically for this purpose called ‘Ms. Tree’ and ‘Ms. Chief’ to get this done.

SpaceX has successfully caught one fairing half before, but it hasn’t been able to catch any others yet, and has also never caught both halves at the the same time. This is a goal for the company because it would save them having to rebuild a costly part for each launch, saving as much as $6 million per launch according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Because Starlink is SpaceX’s own payload, to add to its growing constellation of broadband internet small satellites ahead of that service’s launch sometime later this year, SpaceX has more flexibility with the launch timing than it would for a third-party client. That means it can wait a bit to try to optimize recovery conditions to hopefully improve its chances of having a good fairing recovery, with better conditions at sea.

This launch will also include a Falcon 9 booster landing, using SpaceX’s seafaring ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone ship. SpaceX is of course pretty consistency able to recover these, with a record of success that continues to grown.

Meanwhile, the primary mission will see yet another batch of 60 satellites join two prior groups (plus a first demonstration flock of 60) already in orbit for Starlink. SpaceX eventually hopes to launch many more (as many as 10,000) which will coordinate to provide affordable, high-speed internet to customers around the world, with a service rollout for the U.S. and Canada planned for later this year.

The launch is scheduled for 9:06 AM EST (6:06 AM PST) and the broadcast above will start at 15 minutes prior to that time. If SpaceX needs to shift the mission again, there’s a backup opportunity on January 30 at 8:45 AM EST (5:45 AM PST).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp steps back from board director role

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp is relinquishing his role as a board director and switching to board observer — where he says he’ll focus on product strategy for the ride hailing giant. Camp made the announcement in a short Medium post in which he writes of his decade at Uber: “I’ve learned a lot, and realized that I’m most helpful when focused on product strategy & design, and this is where I’d like to focus going forward.” “I will continue to work with Dara [Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO] and the product and technology leadership teams to brainstorm new ideas, iterate on plans and designs, and continue to innovate at scale,” he adds. “We have a strong and diverse team in place, and I’m confident everyone will navigate well during these turbulent times.” The Canadian billionaire entrepreneur signs off by saying he’s looking forward to helping Uber “brainstorm the next big idea”. Camp hasn’t been short of ideas over his career in tech. He’s the co-founder of the web 2.0 recommendatio
Post a Comment
Read more

Drone crash near kids leads Swiss Post and Matternet to suspend autonomous deliveries

A serious crash by a delivery drone in Switzerland have grounded the fleet and put a partnership on ice. Within a stone’s throw of a school, the incident raised grim possibilities for the possibilities of catastrophic failure of payload-bearing autonomous aerial vehicles. The drones were operated by Matternet as part of a partnership with the Swiss Post (i.e. the postal service), which was using the craft to dispatch lab samples from one medical center for priority cases. As far as potential applications of drone delivery, it’s a home run — but twice now the craft have crashed, first with a soft landing and the second time a very hard one. The first incident, in January, was the result of a GPS hardware error; the drone entered a planned failback state and deployed its emergency parachute, falling slowly to the ground. Measures were taken to improve the GPS systems. The second failure in May, however, led to the drone attempting to deploy its parachute again, only to sever the line
Post a Comment
Read more

How the world’s largest cannabis dispensary avoids social media restrictions

Planet 13 is the world’s largest cannabis dispensary. Located in Las Vegas, blocks off the Strip, the facility is the size of a small Walmart. By design, it’s hard to miss. Planet 13 is upending the dispensary model. It’s big, loud and visitors are encouraged to photograph everything. As part of the cannabis industry, Planet 13 is heavily restricted on the type of content it can publish on Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. It’s not allowed to post pictures of buds or vapes on some sites. It can’t talk about pricing or product selection on others.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Morgan Celeste SF Blogger (@bayareabeautyblogger) on Jan 25, 2020 at 7:54pm PST Instead, Planet 13 encourages its thousands of visitors to take photos and videos. Starting with the entrance, the facility is full of surprises tailored for the ‘gram. As a business, Planet 13’s social media content is heavily restricted and monito
3 comments
Read more