The US space exploration technology company SpaceX is planning to launch the next batch of 60 Starlink Internet satellites on May 26. The Falcon 9 rockets carrying the satellites will lift off from the Cape Canaveral launchpad 40 in Florida at 2: 59 pm Eastern Time on May 26. This launch will reportedly launch 60 satellites into low earth orbit.
Before giving a green signal to the lift-off, which is supposed to take place today, the rocket underwent a successful test-fire on 24th May. Although the company has not revealed any details about the upcoming mission, since the company has completed the filing process with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Space Force indicates that the company is set to launch the satellites on May 26.
On May 25, the Space Force confirmed that the weather conditions on the day of the launch should be 90% favorable. Upper-level winds along the flight path and weather in the drone ship’s Atlantic Ocean recovery zone should be favorable, too.
Prior to this launch, SpaceX also launched 52 Starlink satellites on May 15, 2021. So far, the company has launched a total of 1,677 satellites into the low-Earth orbit of which 1578 are still in orbit.
The Starlink satellite internet service project was launched in January 2015, and SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk had expressed the desire for this, the company wants to provide its users all over the world with high-speed internet access, especially in rural and remote areas. The project, which materialized in 2015 with the launch of its first satellite, is still in its testing phase. The Starlink internet test services are now provided to users residing in parts of the US, Canada and the UK. The company has mentioned that it will slowly expand its coverage to the rest of the world.
