SpaceX will launch the 68th Starlink mission in 2024 and apply for permission to operate nearly 30,000 Gen2 satellites – Spaceflight Now

Update October 21st, 4:20 p.m.: SpaceX is postponing its planned launch to Tuesday, October 22nd at the earliest.

Update October 22, 5:00 p.m.: SpaceX has updated the T-0 time and released information about the first stage booster.

Update Oct. 22, 5:44 p.m.: SpaceX has pushed back the T-0 launch time.

SpaceX will launch another batch of 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday evening.

The Falcon 9 rocket launch follows a week in which the company launched a record six missions with four Falcon 9 rockets, one Falcon Heavy rocket and one Starship rocket, using all four launch pads.

The Starlink 6-61 mission is scheduled to launch from Pad 40 at the CCSFS at 7:48 p.m. EDT (2348 UTC). This will be SpaceX’s 68th dedicated Starlink launch of the year.

Spaceflight Now’s live broadcast begins about an hour before launch.

Shortly before Tuesday’s launch opportunity, the 45th Weather Squadron predicted an 80 percent chance of favorable weather during that window. Launch weather officials said they were monitoring the impact of Tropical Storm Oscar, which could also impact the booster recovery zone. The main concerns are the presence of cumulus clouds and gale-force winds.

“Windy, onshore flow will continue this week as the combination of a strong high to the north and Tropical Storm Oscar to the southeast strengthens the pressure gradient over the Florida Peninsula,” meteorologists wrote. “In this pattern, isolated coastal showers will continue to move onshore from the Atlantic, but dry mid-level air will prevent any significant vertical development.”

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1073 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for the 18th time. It previously supported the flights of the iSpace lunar lander Mission 1, the 27th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-27) mission to the International Space Station and 12 Starlink missions.

Just over eight minutes after launch, B1073 is scheduled to land on SpaceX’s A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship, which is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas. If successful, this will be the 82nd landing on ASOG and the 357th booster landing overall.

Expand Starlink

The mission marks the first time that SpaceX has launched a number of its Starlink satellites to the sixth hull of its constellation since May 31 with the Starlink 6-64 mission. Since then, the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh shells have been built.

The company has been working to obtain approval from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy and operate nearly 30,000 Gen2 Starlink satellites.

Back in March, the FCC approved an application “to conduct communications in the 71.0-76.0 GHz (space-to-earth) and 81.0-86.0 GHz (earth-to-space) frequency bands (collectively, E-band). the 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites previously approved by the Commission as part of the first partial approval of this application.” This approval limits the number of Gen2 satellites to this number for the time being.

“The approval of this portion of SpaceX’s application will serve the public interest by allowing SpaceX to utilize the full capacity of its more advanced second-generation Starlink satellites, which will enhance the broadband service that SpaceX provides to U.S. customers, including those in “unserved and underserved areas of the country,” the FCC wrote on March 8.

“We continue to defer consideration of SpaceX’s remaining application, including SpaceX’s ongoing use of emergency beacons, which is the subject of a second amendment to SpaceX’s application, as well as the remaining 22,488 satellites that SpaceX proposed in its application as amended. “

On August 16, the FCC’s Division of Satellite Programs and Policy approved a license change application from SpaceX regarding its Gen1 satellites, of which there are 4,408, according to the FCC.

“Specifically, SpaceX is authorized to modify its operations based on planned changes to satellite hardware, including modification of beam-forming and digital processing equipment to enable narrower beam capabilities,” the FCC wrote. “This change also reflects updates to SpaceX’s plan to contain orbital debris due to planned deployment of larger satellites.”

Essentially, this approval allows SpaceX to launch Gen2 Starlinks as a replacement for the Gen1 versions under the Gen1 approval.

According to astronomer and orbital tracker Jonathan McDowell, as of October 20, 2024, there were 6,473 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. Of these, 4,150 are Gen1 and 2,323 are the Gen2 mini variety.

Next-generation Starlink satellites, so large only Starship can launch them, will enable a tenfold increase in bandwidth and, with lower altitude, faster latency https://t.co/HLYdjjia3o

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2024

The second-generation, full-size Starlink satellites will be launched on SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which just completed its fifth test flight on October 13th. The company was able to capture the first stage booster, called Super Heavy, with its launch tower for the first time. SpaceX notes that this capability is key to enabling rapid reusability of the rocket in the future.

In addition to increasing the number of Starlink satellites it can launch and operate, SpaceX also wanted to change the nominal orbits of some of its shells, as Ars Technica first reported. In an Oct. 11, 2024, filing with the FCC, SpaceX director of satellite policy Jameson Dempsey wrote that SpaceX “wants to lower the nominal altitudes of its shells from 525 km, 530 km and 535 km to 480 km, 485 km, respectively.” 475 km altitude.”

“For the lower shell at 475 km altitude, SpaceX is asking the agency to reduce the nominal inclination from 33 degrees to 32 degrees,” Dempsey wrote. “Except for its envelope at 475 km altitude, SpaceX is requesting a modification to its authorization to more flexibly distribute satellites to up to 56 aircraft per envelope and up to 120 satellites per aircraft.

“While this reconfiguration will result in a higher potential maximum number of orbital planes and satellites per plane for all but one shell at 475 km, the total number of satellites in the Gen2 system will not exceed 29,988 satellites and the first tranche of satellites in the Gen2 system will will continue to include 7,500 satellites until the Commission authorizes deployments beyond this first tranche.”

Dempsey argues that the requested changes will enable the Starlink internet constellation to “deliver gigabit speeds, truly low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity to all Americans and the billions of people worldwide who still lack access to adequate broadband.” .

The FCC has not yet responded to this latest request.

Final special report

While there are no Starlink satellites on the Starlink 6-61 mission that have direct-to-cell functionality, SpaceX is in the process of completing a unique learning opportunity with this technology.

On Oct. 7, the FCC’s Satellite Licensing Division granted SpaceX a “temporary special authorization” to operate its second-generation Starlink satellites, which have 15 days of DTC capacity, “with additional coverage from space-grade Earth stations in affected areas of Florida.” “Hurricane Milton.”

The same authority was granted on October 4th for the areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

In the United States, SpaceX is working with telecommunications company T-Mobile to provide the service, but has expressed interest in working with other providers in the future.

SpaceX also began testing functionality in New Zealand with telecommunications company One New Zealand.

“When we announced our collaboration with SpaceX, we were dealing with the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, a stark reminder of the need to resiliently secure our mobile network, which can be disrupted by climate-related, fiber and power outages,” said Jason Paris, CEO of One New Zealand said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing this with Hurricane Milton in Florida, where Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability are playing a critical role in keeping people connected as the extreme weather has disrupted their ground-based cellular networks. That’s why starting testing here is a big step forward in our mission to provide unprecedented coverage to New Zealand.”

Starlink d2c is now starting testing in New Zealand @onenzofficial! https://t.co/c810mpihRz

— Michael Nicolls (@michaelnicollsx) October 21, 2024