This Falcon 9 rocket launched in November 2019, carrying 60 Starlink satellites.
SpaceXThe next SpaceX Starlink launch, which has been delayed three times in the last month, looks ready to depart from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday evening. SpaceX tweeted on Aug. 7, the launch is now set for an almost-primetime launch on the west coast at 10:12 p.m. PT. You can find out how to watch below.
Blastoff was originally set for June 26 but was delayed to address technical concerns and then delayed again in early July because of weather that wouldn't cooperate. A third attempt was scrubbed to allow more time for technical checkouts back on July 11.
So now we're at attempt number four. We've embedded the live webcast below and it's scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. PT.
The Falcon 9 rocket will carry a payload that includes the first batch of SpaceX's broadband satellites equipped with a sunshade to reduce their brightness, which has been a sore point for many stargazers. Since Elon Musk's company began launching the small satellites over a year ago, astronomers and other observers have been surprised and even disturbed by the amount of sunlight the orbiting routers reflect, often interfering with scientific observations.
Musk and SpaceX have been working with major astronomical organizations on the problem and have pledged to fix the issue as they ramp up plans to launch tens of thousands of the satellites in the coming years.
Initially, SpaceX tried launching a so-called "darksat," which was essentially a Starlink satellite with a dark coating, but the results from this approach were mixed. Next the company developed and tested a deployable sunshade that it calls VisorSat.
One VisorSat-equipped satellite was launched earlier this month to test the new tech and the next launch will carry the first batch of satellites to be fully shaded.
A June 30 Falcon 9 rocket launch carried aloft a new GPS satellite for the US military. That was followed by the first SpaceX landing after sending a military satellite to space.
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