SpaceX start Deployment in New Orbital Shell with 53 Starlink Satellites

On Saturday, SpaceX launched 53 new Starlink satellites aboard its workhorse Falcon 9 from a foggy Cape Canaveral. With the latest launch, SpaceX has started deployment in a new orbital shell, about 340 miles above Earth.

New Starlink Satellites, New Orbital Shell

Over the last two-and-a-half years of Starlink launches, Falcon 9 has had 30 missions carrying satellites to space. Saturday's launch counted as the 31st. The latest launch brought the total Starlink satellites to 1,844. Out of these, 1,646 are currently operational, while the rest either failed to deploy or deorbited.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from a foggy pad 40 at Cape Canaveral at 7:19:30 a.m. EST (17:49:30 IST) on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1459496546047717382

This particular launch also marked Falcon 9's 25th launch of the year. That averages out to more than 2 launches a month. After deployment of Starlink satellites, a landing burn using the rocket’s center engine slowed the vehicle down for an on-target touchdown on SpaceX’s drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” positioned east of Charleston, South Carolina.

The mission, called Starlink 4-1, was scheduled for Friday. However, SpaceX decided to keep the rocket grounded due to storms near Cape Canaveral.

What Does the New Orbital Shell Mean for Starlink?

The latest launch marked the beginning of a new orbital shell deployment in Starlink's network, at 340 miles, 53.2 degrees inclination. What's more, these new satellites are built-in with new inter-satellite laser terminals, which have been a mainstay since Starlink V1.0 with lasers. In 2021, however, Starlink has launched some  V1.5 satellites, while a "far more capable" V2.0 satellite remains in development, and will see deployment in 2022.

SpaceX has deployed satellites with ISLT since May this year. The laser crosslinks will see SpaceX’s internet network rely less on ground stations by communicating with one another. Since the ground stations are expensive and come with many issues, both geographical and political, SpaceX wants to rely on them less. Therefore, by installing laser terminals, Starlink satellites can "pass" internet traffic among themselves, and direct it wherever. This takes ground terminals completely out of the equation.

Elon Musk had recently tweeted on the same.

“Inter-satellite laser communications means Starlink can carry data at speed of light in the vacuum all around Earth before touching the ground,” he said.

“Over time, some amount of communication can simply be from one user terminal to another without touching the internet", Elon added.

Inter-satellite laser communications means Starlink can carry data at speed of light in vacuum all around Earth before touching ground.

Over time, some amount of communication can simply be from one user terminal to another without touching the Internet.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2021

The start of a new orbital shell means that Starlink has finished the deployment in its first shell. This means that it can now provide internet to lower latitudes, which covers all of India, except the northernmost parts. And that seems to be the reason for Starlink's planned India debut in 2022.

Satellite Deployment Plans

The company has been providing trial services through Starlink to customers who signed up for a beta testing program. In India, pre-orders have been open since March 2021, and users can book themselves a Starlink terminal for $99.

In September, SpaceX launched the first batch of 51 Starlink satellites into a 70-degree inclination orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. That orbital shell will eventually contain 720 satellites at an altitude of 354 miles. Along with the 53-degree and 70-degree orbital shells, other orbital shells will include 1,584 satellites at 335 miles and an inclination of 53.2 degrees, and 520 satellites, spread into two shells, at 348 miles and an inclination of 97.6 degrees.

Replying to a user, Elon had said that the Starlink network should be available for use for maritime customers by mid-2022.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1459500803245461506

For now, Starlink has plans to reach 23 countries by 2022, including the likes of India and Japan. Right now, it has public beta services running in 19 countries in North America, Europe, and Oceania. With the deployment of the latest batch of satellites and the continued deployment of laser-enabled satellites, the network will expand to Asia.

How Many Starlink Satellites?

The Federal Communications Commission had approved SpaceX's request for around 12,000 Starlink satellites. For now, the satcom company will focus on its first stage of deployment. The first stage will see 4,400 satellites launched on a series of Falcon 9 spaceflights, which will provide global coverage. After that, SpaceX will start beefing up the network with Starship, which would carry almost 200 Starlink satellites per flight.

As mentioned, Saturday's launch brought the total to 1,844 satellites. That means SpaceX has achieved almost 42% of its first stage. This still makes Starlink the largest LEO constellation ever, and it looks likely to retain its crown; the nearest competitor would be Samsung's planned fleet of 6,000 satellites. However, for now, Starlink forms the single largest collective deployment of satellites in orbit, ever.

Saturday’s launch was the 25th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket this year, but it has taken flight only 5 times since mid-2021. The first half saw a frantic launch schedule as SpaceX launched 20 Falcon 9 missions from January to June. This was also driven by Starlink satellites. However, since then, the speed has slowed down because SpaceX has struggled to finish developing Starlink's next-gen, laser-equipped satellites.