Billionaire tycoon Elon Musk‘s Space X-led SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit on Friday. Musk, the founder of the American spacecraft manufacturer and satellite communications corporation Space X, shared the details of the new satellite launch on his official Twitter account. According to reports from Space X, Falcon 9 launched 46 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Nine minutes after launch, the rocket made its first landing above the drone ship in the Pacific Ocean and was launched within a short time. The second stage was expected to deploy the satellites 63 minutes after liftoff after the end of the live broadcast. The new satellites are part of Group 3, which orbits in a shell that could be susceptible to “banging” debris from a Russian anti-satellite test that took place in November last year.
Space tracking company COMSPOC recently revealed a conjunction squall event in which 841 Starlink satellites representing about 30% of SpaceX’s constellation are affected by 6,000 close approaches. A conjunction is defined by COMSPOC standards as two orbiting objects within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of each other. SpaceX has not commented on whether any Starlinks have been hit, but in past discussions about space debris, the company has emphasized that its satellites can maneuver to avoid approaching spacecraft or debris.
COMSPOC said in a report that the Group 3 five-layer Starlink spacecraft are in a similar orbit to other sun-synchronous satellites that previously approached the Russian ASAT debris. Group 3 is at an inclination of 97.6 degrees and an altitude of 347 miles (560 kilometers), according to Teslarati. SpaceX’s 36th launch in 2022 added to its ever-growing record for the number of launches in a year. The company also completed its 62nd consecutive first stage landing and 34th booster relaunch in 2022. Friday’s flight was the tenth flight of this particular Falcon 9 first stage, a SpaceX mission, according to reports.
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