Gana PrakashElon Musk’s SpaceX to launch another 60 satellites into orbit to form a constellation of more than 1,500 satellites called Starlink.
The Starlink project could give three billion people who currently do not have access to the internet an affordable way of getting online.
Musk compared the project to ‘rebuilding the internet in space’, as it would reduce reliance on the existing network of undersea fibre-optic cables which criss-cross the planet.
The launch is scheduled for 9:19pm ET from Cape Canaveral in Florida and will take the total number of Starlink satellites to 180.
SpaceX’s first launch of 2020 will be atop its workhorse Falcon 9 booster which, after several delays, is expected to take-off with good weather forecast.
The small satellites will be launched into orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 174 miles, but will slowly rise to an altitude of about 217 miles.
This is its third Starlink launch following successful missions in May and November 2019.
While satellite internet has been around for a while, it has suffered from high latency and unreliable connections.
SpaceX says putting a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit would provide high-speed, cable-like internet all over the world.
CJMY
Jimmy Tan
