SpaceX has launched 60 Starlink satellites on a Falcon-9 rocket to begin setting up its orbiting broadband connection system of an expected 12,000 spacecraft. The space company said the 227 kg electric propulsion satellites were deployed an hour into the flight. In addition to providing internet access for people in rural areas, the satellite will also provide TV and radio services as well as Internet phone calls from space. The platforms are also equipped with electric propulsion - a system that expels electrically charged atoms of krypton to provide thrust. SpaceX said its craft could track debris and avoid it, and that 95% of the satellites were made from materials that would burn up on re-entry when the craft is decommissioned.
SpaceX has launched 60 Starlink satellites on a Falcon-9 rocket to begin setting up its orbiting broadband connection system of an expected 12,000 spacecraft. The space company said the 227 kg electric propulsion satellites were deployed an hour into the flight. In addition to providing internet access for people in rural areas, the satellite will also provide TV and radio services as well as Internet phone calls from space. SpaceX said its craft could track debris and avoid it, and that 95% of the satellites were made from materials that would burn up on re-entry when the craft is decommissioned.