SpaceX has lost contact with 3 out of 60 Starlink internet satellites
SpaceX just revealed new details about the 60 internet-providing satellites the company launched into orbit in May as part of a program called Starlink.
The long-term goal of Starlink is to eventually put thousands of satellites into orbit in order to bathe the planet in high-speed internet.
According to SpaceX, three spacecraft failed and will fall back to Earth. But 45 of the satellites already succeeded in reaching their final orbits.
SpaceX
just provided a raft of significant updates on the launch of its first five dozen internet-providing satellites. The long-term goal of the program,called Starlink,
is to eventually launch thousands of satellites into orbit around Earth in order to bathe the planet in high-speed internet access.
Elon Musk’s company
rocketed the first 60 spacecraft into space and shuffled them into orbit on May 23. On Friday,
a SpaceX spokesperson revealed that
45 of those satellites succeeded in using their small ion engines to reach their final orbits, and five more are on their way now.
An additional five satellites are being checked out before they are raised to their final place around Earth.
Business Insider
SpaceX is in communication with all but three of 60 Starlink satellites one month after launch – The Verge