LAUNCH TIME | May 14, 2022 - 00:07:00 |
LAUNCH PROVIDER | SpaceX |
COSTUMER | SpaceX |
ROCKET | Falcon 9 Block 5 - Booster - |
LAUNCH SITE | Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, California |
PAYLOAD MASS | 14,500 kg circa |
DESTINATION | LEO |
LANDING SITE | Of Course I Still Love You |
WEATHER | - |
SpaceX will launch 53 Starlink satellite. This will be the 44th Starlink operative mission, boosting the number of Starlink satellites launched to 2,544.
The booster (-) will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship located in the Pacific Ocean.
Falcon 9's fairing del Falcon 9 they will be recovered from the sea off the coast of California by the support ship NRC Quest.
A few hours after the satellites are released, the second stage will turn on its engine to perform a deorbit maneuver and disintegrate into the Earth's atmosphere. Re-entering the atmosphere avoids the creation of new space debris.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is SpaceX's internet constelletion. The first phase of the project consists of approximately 42,000 satellites arranged in 5 shells.
You can check the availability of the service in your region at starlink.com/map.
How are Starlink satellites made?
Each Starlink V1.5 satellite has a compact design and a mass of 292 Kg. Each satellite is equipped with 4 phased array antennas for broadband and low latency communications and two satellite dishes. The satellites are also equipped with an inter-satellite laser communication system that allows the satellites to operate with fewer ground stations and coverage of the entire planet, even at the poles.
The satellites also have a star tracker for vehicle attitude control.
Each Starlink is equipped with a self-contained collision avoidance system using the US Department of Defense tracking database.
Also to reduce costs, each satellite has only one solar panel and uses krypton as fuel instead of xenon for its ion thruster. This thruster is used to ensure the correct position and for orbital raising and lowering, at the end of the satellite's life the thruster will be used to deorbit the satellite and allow its destruction upon re-entry into the atmosphere
The distribution of satellites in the different Shells of phase 1:
| ALTITUDINE | INCLINAZIONE | NUMERO DI SATELLITI |
Shell 1 | 550 | 53.0 | 1.584 |
Shell 2 | 570 | 70.0 | 720 |
Shell 3 | 560 | 97.6 | 348 |
Shell 4 | 540 | 53.2 | 1.584 |
Shell 5 | 560 | 97.6 | 172 |
For more information on Starlink visit starlink.com.
Falcon 9
The Falcon 9 Block 5 is SpaceX's partially reusable two-stage launch vehicle. The vehicle consists of a reusable first stage, a consumable second stage and a reusable fairing pair.
The first stage The Falcon 9 first stage contains 9 Merlin 1D engines optimized for sea level. Each engine, powered by RP-1 and liquid oxygen (LOx), produces 845 kN of thrust at sea level.
Dopo la separazione dal secondo stadio il booster esegue delle accensioni di alcuni dei 9 motori per effettuare un atterraggio sulle Landing Zone situate sulla costa o sulle droneship situate in mare aperto.
The second stage The second stage is the only expendable part of the Falcon 9. It contains a single Merlin 1D Vacuum motor that produces 992 kN of thrust. The second stage is capable of several ignitions, allowing the Falcon 9 to place loads in different orbits.
Fairings The Falcon 9 fairing is made up of two reusable halves. The first half is called the active half and houses the pneumatics for the separation system while the other is the passive half.
Both fairing halves feature thrusters and a parachute that are used to gently touch the fairing half into the ocean
The official live stream will start at approximately T- 15 minutes.