Credit for the submitted image: SpaceX Lift Off Time May 13, 2022 – 22:07 UTC | 15:07 PDTM Mission NameStarlink Group 4-13; the fifteenth launch to Starlink Shell 4Launch Provider (Which rocket company launched it?) SpaceXCustomer (Who paid for it?) SpaceXRocketFalcon 9 Block 5, B1063-5; 108.20 days Speed Launch Location Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA Field mass ~ 16,250 kg (~ 35,800 lb) (53 x 307 kg, plus dispenser) Where went satellites 4; Starlink Shell 540 km circular low Earth orbit (LEO); initial orbit: 315 x 305 km at 53.22 ° Did they try to restore the first stage? Yes Where did the first stage land? The B1063 successfully landed 642 km downhill on Of Course I Still Love You
Tractor: Debra C; Support: GO Quest
Did they try to restore the fairings? Half of the fairing was extracted from the water ~ 654 km down from the NRC Quest These fairings were new? No, both halves of the fairing were proven in flight. accelerator proven in flight – 97th re-flight of the accelerator – 18th re-flight of the accelerator in 2022 – 119th booster landing – 45th consecutive landing (record) – 19th launch for SpaceX in 2022 .– The 23rd launch of SpaceX by SLC53rdE Attempt to launch into orbit in 2022. Where to watch Official replay
How did it go?
SpaceX’s Starlink Group 4-13 mission successfully launched 53 Starlink satellites on top of the Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 took off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), at Vandenberg Space Station, California, USA. Starlink Group 4-13 marked Starlink’s 44th operational mission, increasing the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 2,547, of which 2,300 are in orbit around the Earth. Starlink Group 4-13 marks the 15th launch of Starlink’s fourth shell; it will take approximately 30 launches to fill this shell.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is the satellite constellation for Internet communication on SpaceX. The low-Earth orbit constellation will deliver low-latency high-speed Internet service to places where terrestrial Internet is unreliable, inaccessible, or expensive. The first phase of the constellation consists of five orbital shells.
Starlink is currently available in certain regions, which allows anyone in the approved regions to order or pre-order. After 28 launches, SpaceX has achieved almost global coverage, but the constellation will not be complete until about 42,000 satellites are in orbit. After Starlink closes, the venture is expected to earn $ 30-50 billion a year. This gain will largely fund the ambitious SpaceX Starship program, as well as Mars Base Alpha.
Stack of 60 Starlink V1.0 satellites before being encapsulated in the Falcon 9 payload fairing (Credit: SpaceX)
What is the Starlink satellite?
Each Starlink V1.5 satellite has a compact design and a mass of 307 kg. SpaceX has developed a flat-panel design that allows them to place as many satellites as possible in the 5.2-meter-wide Falcon 9’s fairing. Thanks to this flat design, SpaceX is able to accommodate up to 60 Starlink satellites and the payload distributor in the second stage, while being able to restore the first stage. This is close to the payload recovery capacity of the Falcon 9 to LEO, about 16 tons.
No matter how small each Starlink satellite is, each one is full of high-tech communication and cost-saving technology. Each Starlink satellite is equipped with four phased array antennas for high bandwidth and low latency communication and two parabolic antennas. The satellites also include a star tracker, which provides the satellite with position data, ensuring accuracy in broadband communication.
Each Starlink V1.5 satellite is also equipped with an intersatellite laser communication system. This allows each satellite to communicate directly with other satellites without having to go through ground stations. This reduces the number of ground stations required, which allows coverage of the entire earth’s surface, including the poles.
Starlink satellites are also equipped with a stand-alone collision avoidance system that uses the US Department of Defense’s Waste Tracking Database (DOD) to autonomously avoid collisions with other spacecraft and space debris.
To reduce costs, each satellite has one solar panel, which simplifies the production process. To further reduce costs, Starlink’s ion propulsion system uses krypton as fuel instead of xenon. Although the specific impulse (ISP) of krypton is significantly lower than that of xenon, it is far cheaper, which further reduces the production costs of the satellite.
Ionic power
Each Starlink satellite is equipped with the first Krypton-powered Hall ion booster. This thrust device is used both to ensure the correct orbital position and to raise the orbit and lower the orbit. At the end of the satellite’s life, this thruster is used to exit the satellite’s orbit.
What is the Starlink satellite constellation?
A satellite constellation is a group of satellites that work together for a common goal. SpaceX currently plans to form a network of 11,716 satellites; however, in 2019, SpaceX applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to launch and operate an additional 30,000 satellites as part of Phase 2 of Starlink. To put this number of satellites into perspective, this is approximately 20 times more satellites than were launched before 2019.
Of the initial ~ 12,000 satellites, ~ 4,400 will operate in the Ku and Ka bands, and the remaining ~ 7,600 will operate in the V-band.
Due to the huge number of Starlink satellites, many astronomers are concerned about their effect on the night sky. However, SpaceX is working with the astronomical community and implementing changes to the satellites to make them more difficult to see from the ground and less intrusive to the night sky. SpaceX has changed the way satellites increase their orbits and, starting with Starlink V1.0 L9, has added an awning to reduce light reflection. These changes have already significantly reduced the effect of Starlink on the night sky.
Orbital shells of Starlink Phase 1:
Slope (°) Orbital altitude (km) Number of satellitesShell 153.05501,584Shell 270.0570720Shell 397.6560348Shell 453.25401,584Shell 59172.
Shell 1
The first orbital envelope of the Starlink satellites consists of 1,584 satellites in a 53.0 ° 550 km low Earth orbit. Shell 1 consists of 72 orbital planes, with 22 satellites in each plane. This shell is now almost complete, with satellites being changed from time to time. The first shell provides coverage between approximately 52 ° and -52 ° latitude (~ 80% of the earth’s surface) and will not include laser connections until the launch of replacement satellites after 2021.
Shell 2
Starlink’s second shell will receive 720 satellites in orbit 70 ° 570 km. These satellites will significantly increase the coverage area, which will cause the constellation Starlink to cover about 94% of the globe. SpaceX will place 20 satellites in each of the 36 aircraft in the third shell. This shell is currently being filled, along with Shell 4.
Envelope 3
Shell 3 will consist of 348 satellites in orbit of 97.6 ° 560 km. SpaceX deployed 10 laser test satellites in this orbit during its Transporter-1 mission to test polar orbit satellites. SpaceX launched an additional three satellites to this shell during the Transporter-2 mission. On April 6, 2021, Gwyn Shotwell said that SpaceX would conduct regular polar launches of Starlink in the summer, but this shell is now the lowest priority and is expected to be the last to be filled. All satellites that will be located in this orbit will have communication between satellite laser links. Shell 4 will have six orbital aircraft with 58 satellites in each plane.
Envelope 4
The fourth envelope will consist of 1,584 satellites at 540 km 53.2 ° LEO. This updated orbital configuration will slightly increase the coverage area and dramatically increase the constellation’s bandwidth. This envelope will also consist of 72 orbital aircraft with 22 satellites in each plane. This shell is currently being filled in with Shell 2.
Shell 5
The last phase of Starlink Phase 1 will host 172 satellites in another 97.6 ° 560 km low Earth polar orbit. Shell 5 will also consist only of satellites with laser communication links; however, unlike Shell 3, it will consist of four orbital planes with 43 satellites in each plane.
Starlink Orbital Shells Phase 2:
Shell 6
The sixth orbital envelope of the Starlink satellites is allowed to consist of 2493 satellites at 42 ° 335.9 km LEO. This large number of satellites will reduce latency and increase bandwidth for lower latitudes.
Envelope 7
Starlink’s seventh hull allows SpaceX to deploy 2,478 satellites in 48 ° 340.8 km low Earth orbit. These satellites will further reduce latency and increase bandwidth for lower latitudes.
Shell 8
The latest shell of Starlink Phase 2 allows SpaceX to place 2547 satellites in an orbit of 53 ° 345.6 km.
SpaceX has until March 2024 to complete half of Phase 1 and must complete Phase 1 by March 2027. Phase 2 must be completed by November 2024 and completed by November 2027. can cause SpaceX to lose its special bandwidth.
What is Falcon 9 Block 5?
The Falcon 9 Block 5 is SpaceX’s partially usable two-stage medium-launch launch vehicle. The vehicle consists of a reusable first stage, a second stage consumable and, when in a payload configuration, a pair of reusable fairing halves.
First stage
The first stage of the Falcon 9 contains 9 Merlin 1D + engines at sea level. Each engine uses an open cycle gas generator and runs on RP-1 and liquid oxygen (LOx). Each engine produces 845 kN of thrust at sea level, with a specific impulse (ISP) of 285 seconds and 934 kN in vacuum with an ISP of 313 seconds. Due to the powerful nature of the engine and the large number of them, the first stage Falcon 9 may lose …
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