SpaceX and OneWeb ramp up satellite launches
The night sky is getting crowded, and astronomers are not yet sure if they’ve found a solution.
Since SpaceX began launching its Starlink internet satellites in May of 2019, astronomers have spoken up about the brightness of the string of spacecraft in the sky and its effect on their data collection. Part of the issue is scale: SpaceX has already sent about 180 satellites to space, with plans for a constellation numbering in the tens of thousands.
Its third Starlink launch earlier this year carried one satellite in the batch of 60 with an experimental dark coating to try to diminish the craft’s footprint in the night sky. But scientists don’t know yet if that coating worked. In the meantime, more Starlink launches are coming.
SpaceX is scheduled to send another 60 Starlinks to orbit on Monday at 9:49 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s launch complex 40 — weather permitting. Conditions are 50% favorable for a Monday launch and improve to 70% “go” for launch if liftoff is delayed to Tuesday, according to the Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron.
The launch has been delayed twice due to bad weather in the
Atlantic Ocean recovery zone where SpaceX routinely lands its rocket boosters about eight minutes after liftoff.
The satellites will be launched to about 290 kilometers (180 miles) and then, over the course of one to four months, will rise to their operational altitude of 550 kilometers or about 340 miles. When they reach that spot, their orientation changes and they become dimmer to the naked eye.
Still, “they’re leaving a tremendous mark on the night sky right after they’re launched and that’s not representative of the final configuration,” said Patrick Seitzer, a professor at the University of Michigan Department of Astronomy and a member of the American Astronomical Society, which has been working with SpaceX on the satellite issue. “The Starlinks … are brighter than 99% of all the satellites on orbit now.”
The experimental darkened satellite SpaceX is testing still hasn’t reached its operational altitude, and, until it does, Elon Musk’s rocket company and the Astronomical Society won’t know whether the coating is working.
The good news: The coated spacecraft is in the first group from the January launch expected to reach 550 kilometers, meaning data may come back by about late February.
“We care deeply about the advancement of science. SpaceX is actively working with leading astronomy groups from around the world to make sure their work isn’t affected,” SpaceX said in a statement. “SpaceX also proactively coordinated with the European radio astronomy community and [the National Radio Astronomy Observatory] in ways in which we can work together to protect critical radio astronomy activities.”
But Seitzer said that even if the satellites are not visible to the unaided eye, “they are still a major challenge for observatories.”
SpaceX has been approved to launch 12,000 satellites, with plans for an additional 30,000. By the end of 2020, it hopes to have 1,584 Starlink satellites in orbit.
Meanwhile, other companies are eyeing an entrance into the telecommunications business. Satellite manufacturer OneWeb, which has a factory on the Space Coast, has plans for launches of about 30 satellites each, and Amazon has also applied to launch its own constellation of more than 3,000 satellites.
These kinds of satellites orbit much closer to the Earth than traditional geostationary satellites, leading to better high-speed internet connectivity. But to achieve it, companies need to have vast constellations numbering in the thousands to offer global coverage.
Seitzer said that the Astronomical Society has been heartened by the response from SpaceX so far. It’s also trying to get ahead of the issue by developing a set of guidelines for companies and reaching out to providers. It’s already had a teleconference with OneWeb about its upcoming, early February launch of 32 satellites.
“What we recognize is that this is an extremely critical year,” Seitzer said. “We have to move fast.”