Cutting Edge

SpaceX Starlink Satellite Launch Re-scheduled for May 23rd

Published

5 years ago

May 20, 2019

Above: the link to the live streaming broadcast for Thursday May 23rd

On Tuesday, May 14th, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket fulfilled its static fire test, a wet dress rehearsal launch, where the engines fire at full thrust. The test was successful and included all cargo (satellites) on board, which appears to indicate a full launch is now ready to go forward. Musk was initially planning for late Wednesday, but is now aiming for Thursday, May 23rd.

Now targeting May 23 for launch of Starlink from Pad 40 in Florida
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 20, 2019

Standing down to update satellite software and triple-check everything again. Always want to do everything we can on the ground to maximize mission success, next launch opportunity in about a week.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 17, 2019

Musk predicts that it will take at least 6 launches (360 more satellites) for “minor coverage” and then another 6 (total of 720 satellites) for “moderate coverage”. Musk is a realist and does predict that things will inevitably go wrong during the process. Tuesday’s static fire success and soon, a successful launch, can be huge steps towards bigger things to come.

The SpaceX CEO recently won the Stephen Hawking Science Medal for Science and Communication. He was awarded for his work in space travel and humanity.

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