SpaceX is set to launch its latest batch of Starlink broadband satellites on Sunday (Today). The launch will use a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 49 Starlink satellites and is scheduled to take place at 11:47 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The scheduled launch will be the 7th launch and landing for the Falcon 9 rocket.
Live Coverage
SpaceX is expecting to break its previous record of 61 launches in one year, set in 2022. It has already launched 3,800 Starlink satellites in near orbit. People can watch the event live either at “space.com” or on SpaceX’s YouTube channel.
The Controversy
Starlink has been criticized by astronomers due to its brightness as it blocks the space view, threatening to ruin their images. Low Earth orbit satellites like Starlink can also disrupt radio signals used by sensitive astronomical instruments. Our coming generations will not be able to remember “night sky before these satellites,” Space archaeologist Alice Gorman, from Flinders University said.
