SpaceX resumes Starlink launch with optical link satellites

SpaceX Starlink launches resumed on Monday, launching a constellation of 51 Starlink satellites on the Polar Orbit, equipped with inter-satellite optical links. The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 20:55 PST, carrying 51 Starlink satellites into space. The satellite position was confirmed about 26 minutes after the mission began.

This was Starlink’s first launch since May 26, as the Starlink was launched until a batch of laser stations was ready, Gwen Shotwell, SpaceX’s chief operating officer, said at a space seminar in August.

Propulsion engineer Yumei Chu described the Starlink constellation as a “giant leap forward” in Monday’s webcast. These satellites will communicate directly with each other via inter-satellite links rather than through radio communications with the ground station.

“The fewer connections to ground stations mean Starlink will be able to expand and improve the service, especially in very remote areas,” Zhou said. “All future Starlink satellites will contain an optical space laser.”

The launch was also Starlink’s first launch on the West Coast at Vandenberg Space Station in California, which Chu says is ideal for payloads entering polar orbit.

By launching into a polar orbit, these satellites will be able to see almost all the way to the poles, providing near-global coverage. This means that Starlink will be able to expand its services to Alaska, Scandinavia and other polar regions.

Starlink beta is currently available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Isle of Man, Jersey, Australia, Austria, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Portugal, Chile and Poland. SpaceX says more than half a million people have placed an order or deposited Starlink, and more than 100,000 user stations have shipped.

SpaceX SATELLITE 2021 executives attended last week to discuss Development strategies for satellite operators, And How does a satellite fit into a large telecommunications ecosystem.