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EI2GYB > SPACE 25.08.21 15:55l 74 Lines 3207 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: SpaceX paused Starlink launches to give its internet satell
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SpaceX paused Starlink launches to give its internet satellites lasers
There's a reason for the recent lull.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - SpaceX hasn't launched any Starlink internet
satellites since June.
It turns out it's because the company has been adding "lasers"
to the spacecraft.
Since it last launched a batch of Starlink satellites to low
Earth orbit on June 30, SpaceX has been quiet about what's next
for the constellation.
With Starlink launches happening frequently in the first half of
2021, this pause raised questions. On Tuesday (Aug. 24),
at the 36th annual Space Symposium here, SpaceX President and chief
operating officer Gwynne Shotwell explained the break.
"We're flying a number of laser terminals right now in space," Shotwell
said, adding that SpaceX is now working to integrate lasers into all
of its Starlink satellites.
"That's why we have been struggling for six or eight weeks - we wanted
the next set to have laser terminals on them," Shotwell said.
These laser terminals, or laser crosslinks, were added to a batch of
Starlink satellites back in January 2021.
These links allow satellites to transfer information to one another
and communicate in other ways as well.
With this technology, SpaceX hopes that ground stations on
Earth won't be necessary with every batch of satellites as part of
the constellation. Making this change could allow satellite internet coverage to reach areas where ground stations cannot be built, Shotwell explained.
The recent launch lull won't last much longer, however.
SpaceX aims to start lofting Starlink satellites again in approximately
three weeks, Shotwell said at the conference.
SpaceX continues to grow its Starlink constellation, which the
company hopes will be able to provide internet service to people
around the globe, even in remote areas that do not currently have
reliable internet.
There are currently over 1,600 Starlink satellites in orbit, and that
number will continue to grow; SpaceX has filed paperwork for up to
42,000 satellites for the constellation.
But the company is actively thinking about ways to prevent collisions
and to minimize risks in orbit, Shotwell said.
"The worst thing in the world is to have a collision," Shotwell
said on Tuesday, adding that Starlink employs autonomous collision
avoidance technology.
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