Tomorrow SpaceX will launch another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX will launch another 60 of its Starlink satellites into orbit tomorrow from the same type of Falcon 9 rocket that launched astronauts to the ISS.

Launching on June 13, this latest Falcon 9 mission will leave from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 10:21 BST, and will also include three Planet Earth-observation satellites. When launched, this latest batch will bring the size of the Starlink constellation up to 540 satellites.

SpaceX is accelerating the pace of launches and this will be the second this month, with a third due on June 22 that will bring the constellation up to 600.

SpaceX has permission from the US government to launch up to 42,000 satellites into orbit around the Earth.By the end of June SpaceX will have used its reusable Falcon 9 rocket four times in a month - including the three Starlink launches and the NASA crewed mission.



The 60 satellites launched atop the firm's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:55pm EDT on June 3 (1:55am BST June 4). The next batch launches on June 13 with another due to launch on June 22 bringing the total of Starlink satellites up to 600

The firm says it hopes to be able to start offering a basic internet service when it has a constellation of at least 800 satellites - likely to happen later this year.The project has received widespread criticism from astronomers for tainting the natural view of the night sky as the satellites are highly reflective.
It has been experimenting with ways to make the craft less bright when viewed from Earth and the Jun 4 batch included one experimental craft with an inbuilt sun visor.

SpaceX has permission from FCC to build a 12,000 strong space internet constellation called Starlink and they will be launched under its 42,000 quota.
With that scale, some astronomers say it could significantly harm their ability to observe the night sky and study the universe from Earth.

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