December 29, 2020.

January 13, 2021.

As the second SpaceX launch of the year, and the first of many Starlink missions scheduled to launch in 2021, the company is set to launch the Starlink v1.0 L16 mission — the 16th launch of operational satellites and 17th Starlink flight overall

This mission was originally scheduled to be the third SpaceX launch of the year, however, a delay to the Transporter-1 mission will now make Starlink v1.0 L16 the second launch of the company’s busy 2021 schedule

Starlink is SpaceX’s own constellation of satellites designed to provide low latency internet anywhere in the world

Current satellite internet relies on large satellites with long lifespans, generally 15 years or more, placed into geostationary orbit, approximately 35,800 kilometers (22,245 miles) above the earth’s surface and directly over the equator

However, due to the high orbit of the satellites, it takes more time for a signal to travel to and from the satellite, approximately 550 milliseconds

This prevents current satellite internet providers from offering low latency, high-speed internet like Starlink aims to provide

Designing the satellites to have a shorter lifespan compared to their geostationary counterparts also allows the constellation to be continuously upgraded as new satellites are constantly launched

There have been at least two Starlink satellites launched with the laser interlinks, and on September 3rd, 2020, SpaceX announced the two spacecraft had successfully tested the laser interlinks on board the satellites

Another benefit of a Low Earth Orbit constellation such as Starlink is natural orbital decay

If a satellite fails in orbit and is unable to de-orbit itself, orbital decay caused by drag will ensure the satellite de-orbits in weeks to a few years, depending on the satellite’s altitude

This is to ensure a minimum number of dead satellites are left behind which can cause possible collisions with other satellites in orbit

If a satellite encounters issues on orbit but is still capable of de-orbiting, the satellite can actively do so rather than waiting for the slower orbital decay due to drag

Illustration showing the difference between orbits used by Starlink satellites and by other internet satellites – via SpaceX

SpaceX is currently offering a beta version of the Starlink internet service, jokingly named the Better Than Nothing Beta, where users pay $500 for the Starlink terminal and router, and then $99 per month for the service

The v1.0 L16 mission will carry a full batch of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit, inclined at 53 degrees

Once in orbit, each satellite will deploy their single solar array and turn on its Krypton ion thruster to begin raising their orbit and maneuvering to their intended orbital plane

Each Starlink satellite weighs approximately 260 kilograms (573 pounds), with a full stack of 60 satellites weighing around 15,600 kilograms (34,380 pounds)

60 Starlink v0.9 satellites seen by a camera on the Falcon 9 upper stage prior to deployment – via SpaceX

The constellation will be deployed in phases, with the first phase consisting of 1,440 satellites, and the whole constellation totaling 4,400 satellites

SpaceX also has permission to launch another 7,000 satellites using a higher frequency band if they choose to do so, and have applied for permission to deploy another 30,000 satellites using the same frequencies as the initial constellation

This brings the potential size of the constellation to 42,000 satellites, which will allow many users to be able to benefit from Starlink around the world

B1051 then went on to launch the RADARSAT Constellation Mission in June 2019, Starlink L3 in January 2020, Starlink L6 in April, Starlink L9 in August, Starlink L13 in October, and lastly SXM-7 in December