SpaceX's 40th Launch Sends 51 Starlink Satellites to Orbit

SpaceX launches 51 new Starlink satellites into orbit, marking the space company's 40th launch this year.

SpaceX's 40th Launch of 2022

On Sunday, 51 Starlink internet satellites were launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida's east coast, according to a news story by Space.com.

Aside from the Starlink internet satellites, the rocket also carried a tug from another spaceflight company.

The publication also mentioned that Sherpa-LTC2, a space tug provided by the Seattle-based company Spaceflight, was also on board with Starlink Group 4-20.

The Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission (Varuna-TDM) by Boeing, whose payload is being transported by the tug, "aims to test V-band communications for a proposed constellation of 147 non-geostationary broadband satellites."

Landing on Atlantic Ocean

According to Sunday's flight plan, SpaceX intended to return the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket to the planet and softly land it on the droneship Just Read the Instructions, which was located in the Atlantic.

About 8.5 minutes after launch, the seventh landing of this specific booster took place as expected.

Starlink Satellites

For those who are unfamiliar, Starlink's goal is to bring connectivity to isolated or underserved regions. Starlink is an internet service that uses satellites to deliver broadband connectivity to consumers who have the necessary receiving devices.

SpaceX's Starlink is a large constellation of broadband satellites. More than 3,000 Starlink spacecraft have already been launched by the company into low Earth orbit, and many more are anticipated to follow soon.

According to Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, Starlink may earn up to $50 billion a year if it can take even a small share of the worldwide telecommunications market.

As in September 2021, customers would be able to purchase its goods and services from different countries. According to a recent SpaceX announcement, 35 nations will have access to Starlink's broadband satellites.

Since the Starlink service was released from beta testing at the end of 2021, SpaceX has been continuously improving it. This expansion project is expected to be finished by the end of 2022.

Currently, SpaceX is permitted to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites, and it has also requested permission to launch additional 30,000 more.

Starlink Starts to Make Deals With other Big Companies

In order to provide internet connection onboard, Royal Caribbean Cruises had partnered with SpaceX.

The operator of Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises announced on 30 Aug. that it is giving its cruise ships Starlink satellite network-powered onboard internet connectivity.

The company claimed they are looking to completely deploy the Starlink internet service across their fleet by the first quarter of 2023, and that it has already given SpaceX's Starlink internet service a test run aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships over the summer.

According to the cruise company, the partnership aims to enhance internet access while at sea.