The company will launch about 60 microsatellites
NEW YORK, January 27. /TASS/. SpaceX plans to launch the 18th constellation of Starlink microsatellites, designed to provide Internet access, into orbit on January 30. This was reported on Wednesday by the profile Internet portal Space.com.
According to him, the launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral (Florida) is scheduled for 07:24 on the east coast of the United States (15:24 Moscow time). The company, led by Elon Musk, will launch about 60 microsatellites this time.
The Starlink network is designed to provide Internet access by deploying a large number of small spacecraft weighing up to 500 kg in near-Earth orbit. According to SpaceX, the launch of a total of 11 thousand satellites and their commissioning will cost $10 billion. By the end of 2018, SpaceX managed to raise $507 million for its project. One of the largest investors is Google, which previously intended to deploy its own satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit to transmit Internet traffic.
In December 2018, SpaceX signed a $28 million contract with the US Air Force to test the Starlink system for possible use for military purposes. In May 2019, the first 60 Starlink vehicles were launched into space.
