SpaceX has successfully launched its first batch of Starlink satellites, a planned satellite mega constellation that aims to provide internet from space to billions of unconnected people around the world. At 10:30pm Eastern time Thursday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida with 60 Starlink satellites on board, the first satellites designed to work within this constellation. “With a flat-panel design featuring multiple high-throughput antennas and a single solar array, each Starlink satellite weighs approximately 227 kilograms,” they said. And this could herald the start of an ambitious launch program that will see dozens of launches take similarly-sized batches of Starlink satellites into orbit. Elon Musk/SpaceX/TwitterSpaceX ultimately plans for Starlink to provide high-speed satellite internet across Earth around the clock, even as remote as Antarctica.

Source: Forbes May 24, 2019 03:01 UTC