SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, and many other rockets of our time, all look like some crazy stuff in the night sky. When spinning out of control, they can even make swirls in the sky appearing to look as though there’s a wormhole opened up. Alas, these rockets, although still primitive – have increasingly become more developed. All these rockets carry stuff out into space. They often carry satellites.
Starlink Satellites are a network of thousands of small satellites orbiting the Earth, designed and created by the company SpaceX. The satellites are used to provide high-speed internet access to people around the world, improving global connectivity and providing reliable access in remote regions.
As of April 2021, there are approximately 1,385 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth. SpaceX plans to launch up to 12,000 Starlink satellites into Earth’s orbit.
A Starlink satellite skytrain would appear as a string of bright, moving dots in the night sky, moving in unison across the sky in a straight line. The satellites would look brighter than stars, and they would appear to travel faster than typical aircraft, as they orbit the Earth at several hundred miles per hour. The satellites would likely appear to travel from the western horizon to the eastern horizon, or vice versa, and their brightness would fade as they move farther away from the observer.
Once Starlink satellites are launched into space, they use onboard computers to determine their position in orbit and orient themselves in the right direction. They then deploy their solar panels, antennas, and other components. Then they can begin communicating with the ground control station and other satellites in the constellation. The satellites receive commands from ground control, and then adjust their positions to form an organized network in space. This helps to improve performance of the internet services they provide. As they move in their orbits, they use onboard thrusters to make small adjustments to maintain their positions.
The life expectancy of a Starlink satellite is 5 to 6 years.
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