Less than two weeks ago, elon musk He met with President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil to talk about a partnership involving the Starlink project. Now, in a video on the Everyday Astronaut YouTube channel, SpaceX CEO comments on some details of next-generation satellites.
As Musk explained, the Starlink 2.0 satellite will be launched at a length of 7 meters and weighs 1.25 tons, compared to the first version weighing only 260 kg. The weight is greater due to a more efficient satellite, and the billionaire also claims that the first Starlink 2.0 unit has already been produced.
“Think of it like how many useful bits of data each satellite can make. In an interview with the channel, Musk said that in terms of useful bits of data, Starlink 2.0 is almost an order of magnitude better than Starlink 1.0.
a new rocket
Currently the original version of Starlink is being launched on a Falcon 9 rocket, but the new satellites are too heavy and make it impossible for the rocket to move. According to Musk, Falcon 9 does not have the volume or mass to send Starlink 2.0 into Earth orbit.
So SpaceX is working to use the Starship rocket, which is being developed and tested, to send heavy payloads into space. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently evaluating the impact of the Starship program, which has delayed launch several times – the FAA report is expected in June 2022.
Recently, some officials from the US space agency NASA wrote a letter to the FAA expressing their concerns about Starlink 2.0. The letter comments on the risk of collisions with the agency’s various satellites and spacecraft.
Source: Tec Mundo
