SpaceX’s plan to provide broadband access will take a big step forward as it prepares to launch five dozen small satellites on a single rocket. They will eventually become part of a network of thousands of internet-beaming spacecraft.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches a commercial communications satellite in July 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX’s plan to provide broadband access will take a big step forward Wednesday night as the Elon Musk-led firm prepares to launch five dozen small satellites on a single rocket. They will eventually become part of a network of thousands of internet-beaming spacecraft. The launch is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Following the launch, Hawthorne-based SpaceX plans to land the rocket’s first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.The 60 satellites, which weigh about 500 pounds each, are expected to deploy from the rocket’s second stage about an hour after liftoff, when they reach a point about 273 miles above the Earth.
The satellites set to launch Wednesday, however, are a bit different. Musk tweeted last week that these are “production design” satellites, rather than the demonstration versions that launched last year. But don’t expect the company to offer service immediately — Musk said on Twitter that 360 more satellites would be needed for “minor coverage,” with hundreds more necessary for “moderate” coverage. SpaceX has said it plans to provide coverage in the U.S. and around the world.
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