Today, SpaceX will launch 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit using its Falcon 9 rocket and then land the booster stage on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX faces an important test with this mission, designed to demonstrate that Starship and its Super Heavy first stage can withstand atmospheric re-entry before safely splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Starlink V2 Mini
Launch of 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites marks a new era of smaller constellations for Starlink. These V2 Minis feature enhanced capabilities including improved phased array antennae and the use of E-band backhaul communications with customers, quadrupling data capacity per satellite. Furthermore, their argon Hall thrusters for on-orbit maneuvering are both more powerful and fuel efficient than those found on previous Starlink hardware.
SpaceX recently received approval from the Federal Communication Commission to launch their Gen2 Starlink megaconstellation, replacing Gen1 constellation with 7,500 satellites over five years. Once operational lifespan expires, these older satellites will be directed into Earth’s atmosphere and burned up safely.
SpaceX recently made public that they will make their mirror film and dark paint material available at a reduced rate for use by other operators who want to launch multiple small satellites into orbit.
Polaris Dawn
Polaris Dawn will test the limits of commercial spaceflight. Its all-civilian crew will reach heights not seen since Apollo missions and conduct a spacewalk that marks an historic first for commercial spaceflight.
Crew Dragon will reach an elliptical orbit around 870 miles above Earth – more than double that between Earth and International Space Station – and break Gemini 11 astronauts’ record by 853 miles reached in 1966. At its peak, Crew Dragon will pass over Van Allen belts, an energetic region containing numerous X-ray sources.
Polaris Dawn will see four crewmembers conduct scientific experiments and raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, led by Inspiration4 commander Jared Isaacman and featuring mission pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet as well as SpaceX employees Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis – specifically Gillis who leads SpaceX’s astronaut training program – carrying out scientific experiments and raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer research research. Like its predecessor Inspiration4, Polaris Dawn will continue raising money and awareness through fundraising initiatives for pediatric cancer research research efforts – fundraising campaigns such as Inspiration4.
BlueBird-1
On September 15, AST SpaceMobile is set to launch five BlueBird satellites from Florida – creating the only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by smartphones designed specifically for commercial and government usage.
The BlueBird constellation will utilize AST & Science’s patent technology to connect directly with cellphones in space environments. It is based on their BlueWalker-3 prototype, which has demonstrated download rates of 21 megabits per second in low earth orbit; smaller but twice as powerful satellites will be deployed for BlueBird use.
SpaceX, the US aerospace manufacturer founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk and operating multiple launch pads across the US including Cape Canaveral’s historic LC-39A launch pad and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s SLC-40 launchpad, will conduct this launch. Their Falcon 9 rocket features reusability capability enabling its booster to return back to its launch site after stage separation for reuse or performing vertical landings if necessary.
Soyuz 2.1a
At Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, a four-stage Soyuz 2.1a rocket launched the Russian military surveillance satellite Bars-M No. 4. Soyuz utilizes refined kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel in its first three stages to place payloads into low Earth orbit or beyond; when each stage completes its burn, its boosters separate in a nonimpact separation process to form what ground observers refer to as the Korolev cross effect.
Soyuz 2.1a features the Fregat upper stage, an optional hypergolic stage designed to carry additional cargo into space alongside its main payload. Manufactured by NPO Lavochkin since 1991, Fregat has been flying successfully ever since its initial deployment.
The International Space Station will be loaded with cargo by the Progress MS-25 spacecraft, which will dock with it around nine minutes post launch and provide food, water, clothing, experiments tools and other supplies to ISS.