NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 2023-026J
SpaceX launched the first batch of next-generation Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral, deploying 21 bigger, heavier, more capable spacecraft to boost capacity for the global broadband network.
The new Starlink satellite design debuted on Monday’s launch, called “V2 Mini,” have four times the communications capacity of earlier generations of Starlink satellites, known as Version 1.5, SpaceX said. The upgraded Starlink V2 Mini satellites are an intermediate step between SpaceX’s original Starlink satellite design, and an even larger spacecraft platform SpaceX plans to deploy using its new-generation Starship rocket. The Starship has nearly 10 times the payload lift capability of a Falcon 9 rocket, with greater volume for satellites.
The Starlink V2 satellites will be capable of transmitting signals directly to cell phones, a step forward in connectivity from space that other companies are also pursuing. The V2 Mini satellites have more powerful phased array antennas than older Starlink satellites and introduce E-band for backhaul links with gateway stations.
The Starlink V2 Mini satellites also carry an argon-fueled electrical propulsion system using Hall thrusters for on-orbit maneuvering. The new propulsion system has 2.4 times the thrust and 1.5 times the specific impulse, or fuel efficiency, of the krypton-fueled ion thrusters on the first generation of Starlink satellites.
Launch Date: 2023-02-27
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 Full Thrust
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
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