ovirt001 OP t1_j246wmn wrote
> SpaceX launched the first batch of a new generation of Starlink satellites into orbit early Wednesday (Dec. 28) and nailed a rocket landing at sea to mark a record 60th flight of the year. > A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 54 upgraded Starlink internet satellites — the first generation 2 (Gen2) versions of the SpaceX fleet — lit up the predawn sky with a smooth launch at 4:34 a.m. EST (0934 GMT) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. > "Under our new license, we are now able to deploy satellites to new orbits that will add even more capacity to the network," Jesse Anderson, a SpaceX production and engineering manager, said during live launch commentary. "Ultimately, this enables us to add more customers and provide faster service, particularly in areas that are currently oversubscribed." > About eight minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth with a landing on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean, where rough recovery weather threatened to delay the launch. The touchdown marked a successful end to SpaceX's 60th launch of SpaceX in 2022, nearly doubling the 31 launches set as a SpaceX record in 2021. > The Falcon 9 first stage on this mission made its 11th flight with Wednesday's launch. The booster previously flew five Starlink missions, launched two U.S. GPS satellites, the Nilesat 301 commercial satellite and carried two different private astronaut crews on the Inspiration4 and Ax-1 missions, SpaceX has said. > The company will also attempt to recover the two payload fairing halves that made up the Falcon 9's nose cone, which had both flown before, for later reuse, Anderson said.
Surur t1_j247l95 wrote
When they promised a launch a week in the beginning of the year that seemed unlikely, but they managed to exceed even that ambitious target.
BTW, do these satellites have inter-satellite lasers or not? It seemed unclear from what I have been reading.
JustAPairOfMittens t1_j24rtbp wrote
Yes their new spec does. I'm thinking the previous gen had a variation of Lazer tech as well but someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Sats take about 90 days to begin connecting to the Starlink network and reach their proper orbit, so any benefit is felt usually in the next season.
Just as an example I was having a tough time with about 5-8 disconnects a day of 5-15 seconds each last winter.
By the summer it was 2 per day.
Fall it was 3-5 a week.
Now it's maybe once a week when an owl or crow land on my satellite or some massive snowstorm and it dips for a few seconds once.
I've always had 100% visibility no obstructions. No hardware faults. Starlink support told me to expect these improvements over time.
Lasers will certainly enhance stability further.
ovirt001 OP t1_j249axz wrote
I haven't found a clear answer either but I suspect they've been deploying only second-gen satellites (which have the laser comm capability).
Surur t1_j24e25v wrote
I have heard them called Starlink 1.5 satellites because they are the same size as the version 1 satellites.
gopher65 t1_j25gtju wrote
Yes, all the v1.5 and beyond Starlink have had laser links. They have enough laser capable sats in orbit now that they've been able to open up some locations that aren't within reach of base stations. As the older Starlink sats deorbit over the next few years they'll be replaced with versions with lasers as well.
VinceSamios t1_j254ytp wrote
I believe they've had laser links between says for quite a while.
Surur t1_j255hqk wrote
Ah, you are right. They just turned them on 60 days ago.
https://wccftech.com/starlink-turns-on-laser-satellites-for-region-with-fourth-month-long-night/
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