Planet Labs

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Graphics: 250kg-satellites have a "flat" design, has a solar power plant in orbit

the Californian company SpaceX, and a further 60 satellite in your Starlink network

It brings to 182 The Number of vessels, The Company has now, in the sky, as part of his plan, a global broadband internet service.

The latest platforms went up on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The new additions mean SpaceX is working now more commercial satellites in orbit than any other company.

Planet Labs , also in California, the next largest is the functioning of a constellation of almost 150. Its probe is used to image the surface of the earth.

SpaceX has permission from regulators to up to 12,000 platforms, but has spoken of a possible 40,000, depending on how The Project develops.

could still have Two more batches of 60 before the month, as The Firm is ready to start, some regional broadband connections this year.

But the roll-out was complaining of a wave of criticism from astronomers to ruin that a large number of artificial objects in The Night sky, their view of the cosmos.

To gain these complaints, have dismissed the scientist images of trains of bright dots passing overhead, the Reflections from the satellites as they move around the globe.

SpaceX believes that the concerns are exaggerated, but.

The Company granted to the star on the left side are bright shortly after the Start, but says this is the result of the configuration of the satellite, because of an altitude of 290 km to 550 km.

if you are in your final orbit, the spacecraft should be barely visible, so The Company , and it is the most detailed Starlink to avoid coordinates in the astronomy groups, so that you can better plan your observations on disorders.

One of the 60 satellites on the last mission she had seen to reduce The Number of experimental coating, if you could, more of the reflectivity.

Whether The Scientists will be satisfied, remains to be seen.

The discussion This Week at its meeting in Hawaii, the problems. Patricia Cooper, vice president of satellite and government relations at SpaceX involved.

how many alarms skywatchers is that the Hawthorne headquarters of The Company is the only one with a design for a so-called "mega-constellation" is.

UK-based OneWeb wants to first 650 broadband satellite. Six demonstrators were launched in the last year, but from next month, the London-based company, lofting hopes, over 30 in the month.

The online retailer Amazon wants to be in the business. The proposed Kuiper-The Project is in a less advanced stage, but the numbers of the satellites is considered, is for The Company 's network of over 3,000.

An earlier flight: This rocket has launched on three previous occasions

all of these numbers in a certain context: today, there are only 2,200 working satellites of all types in the sky,

The wide-band-mega-constellations, costs billions of dollars for the roll-out. SpaceX, though, can mitigate much of the financial pressure, because it will fly reusable rockets.

Each time a Starlink-mission comes to an end, it does so on a vehicle that has essentially already been purchased by Someone Else for an earlier satellite.

The Rocket was used This Week for its fourth Ascent .

spacex, astronomy, space exploration, aerospace, communications satellites

Source of news: bbc.com