SpaceX Launches Seventh Starlink Mission, Raising Total Number Of Satellites Launched To 420
SpaceX has successfully launched its latest batch of 60 Starlink satellites, raising its total number of Starlink satellites launched into orbit to 420.
Today at 3.30 P.M. Eastern Time, the California-based company’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida with the satellites on board.
About eight minutes after launching, the first stage of the rocket came down for a landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about 630 kilometers into the Atlantic Ocean.
This was the fourth flight for the first stage, having flown three times before including the Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2019.
The two halves of the payload fairing – or nosecone – of the rocket were also reused, having flown on the AMOS-17 mission back in August 2019.
The second stage of the rocket, which gives the satellites their final boost into orbit, was the only part that had not flown before.
About 15 minutes into the mission, the 60 Starlink satellites on board were deployed into an initial orbit 290 kilometers above Earth.
Once the satellites have been checked out to ensure they are working properly, they will use their onboard ion thrusters to rise to their operational altitude of 550 kilometers over several months.
Starlink satellites unfold their solar panels once in orbit. SPACEX
There have been multiple reports of Starlink satellites being visible in the night sky, with the potential to impact astronomical observations of the universe.
However, on Twitter earlier today, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed some new information about the reflectivity issue. He said all upcoming Starlinks in two launches time would be equipped with a “sunshade”, to make them dimmer.
“We are taking some key steps to reduce satellite brightness,” he wrote. “Should be much less noticeable during orbit raise by changing solar panel angle & all sats get sunshades starting with launch 9.”
Since May 2019 the company has now launched 420 Starlink satellites into orbit, and 422 satellites in total following the launch of two prototype satellites in 2018.
This was SpaceX’s sixth launch of the year, and crucially marks the 84th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket. That makes the Falcon 9 the most flown operational U.S. rocket, ahead of the Atlas V.
译文：
SpaceX发射了第七次Starlink任务,使发射的卫星总数增加到420
SpaceX已成功发射了最新一批60颗Starlink卫星，从而使发射入轨的Starlink卫星总数增加到420。
今天，美国东部时间下午3:30，这家位于加利福尼亚的公司的Falcon 9火箭从卫星上从佛罗里达的卡纳维拉尔角升空。
发射大约八分钟后，火箭的第一阶段下降，降落在无人驾驶飞机上，当然我仍然爱你到大西洋约630公里。
这是第一阶段的第四次飞行，已经飞行了3次，然后在2019年3月进行了机组人员演示1号机组飞往国际空间站（ISS）的飞行。
火箭的有效载荷整流罩的两半（也就是鼻锥）也已重新使用，早在2019年8月就已经执行了AMOS-17任务。
火箭的第二阶段是使卫星最后进入轨道的动力，是之前从未飞行过的唯一部分。
任务执行约15分钟后，机载60颗Starlink卫星被部署到距离地球290公里的初始轨道。
一旦检查完卫星以确保其正常工作，它们将在几个月内使用机载离子推进器将其上升到550公里的运行高度。
有许多报道称，星空卫星在夜空中可见，有可能影响宇宙的天文观测。
但是，在今天早些时候的Twitter上，SpaceX首席执行官Elon Musk透露了一些有关反射率问题的新信息。他说，在两次发射中所有即将到来的Starlinks都将配备“遮阳篷”，以使它们更暗淡。
“我们正在采取一些关键的步骤，以减少卫星的亮度，”他写道。“在改变轨道的过程中，通过改变太阳能电池板的角度应该不那么引人注目，并且所有卫星都将从发射9开始就遮阳。”
自2019年5月以来，该公司现已向轨道上发射了420颗Starlink卫星，继2018年发射了两颗原型卫星之后，总共发射了422颗卫星。
这是SpaceX在今年的第六次发射，并标志着Falcon 9火箭的第84次飞行。这使得Falcon 9成为美国载运量最大的火箭，领先于AtlasV。