NetEase Technology News June 14, according to foreign media reports, only 10 days after the last Starlink satellite launch, the US space exploration technology company SpaceX launched the latest batch of Starlink satellites on Saturday. Unlike each batch of 60 Starlink satellites launched in the past, SpaceX only launched 58 satellites this time, which brought the total number of Starlink broadband Internet satellites in orbit to 538.

At the same time, SpaceX also carried out the so-called "free rider launch" for the first time. The company reduced two star-chain satellites in its payload and carried three SkySat satellites from the US microsatellite company Planet.

SpaceX’s latest Starlink satellite launch is of great significance: First, it brings the company closer to the actual goal of operating space broadband Internet services, and it is expected to begin providing network services to limited customers in the United States and Canada later this year; Starchain satellites have made new improvements to reduce their impact on astronomical observations.

Due to the sheer size of the Starchain network and its relatively low orbit, the plan has been criticized by many scientific observers. SpaceX has launched a Starlink satellite equipped with a deployable sun visor that can block the reflection of sunlight on the antenna surface. In this launch, all 58 satellites have adopted this new technology.

SpaceX hopes that the Starchain network can coexist in harmony with scientists conducting ground observations, but this will ultimately depend on the impact of the sun visor after a large number of Starchain satellites are deployed.

The launch is also the first mission of SpaceX's "Smallsat Rideshare Program" (Smallsat Rideshare Program), which provides opportunities for microsatellite operators. They can order SpaceX rockets to be launched in a relatively flexible "on-demand" way, and put their payloads into a predetermined orbit.

SpaceX launched the boarding business because it has realized that other launch service providers, such as Rocket Lab, specifically for this market segment's efforts, may pose a significant potential competitive threat to their overall profits . (Little)

Source: NetEase Technology Report, translated by Google Translate