Upcoming Starlink launches in February 2024
Starlink Group 7-13: February 2, 2024, 7:05 p.m. PST (3:05 UTC on February 3)
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | DATE/TIME MAY CHANGE
You can watch Starlink launches on SpaceX’s X account.
Expect more launches to be announced for the rest of the month. Watch this space for updates!
After launch, look for a train of lights
Following every Starlink launch, the internet buzzes with people asking:
What’s that long line of lights in the sky that looks like a train?
In this case, what you’re seeing is the satellites moving into a higher orbit. And more specifically, you can check to see if they will pass over your area using the Find Starlink website.
Growing numbers amid controversy
According to Wikipedia, as of January 2024, Starlink consists of over 5,250 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit that communicate with designated ground transceivers. They provide internet access to more than two million subscribers.
Love ’em or hate ’em, these satellites are part of SpaceX’s vision for a global internet communication satellite constellation. They deliver high-speed internet service worldwide, mainly to locations where ground-based internet is unreliable, unavailable, or expensive. The private company is well-known for launching batches back-to-back, several times a month, regularly lofting 60 satellites at a time. And SpaceX plans to build up to perhaps as many as 30,000 eventually.
Most thought it was exciting to see the first few Starlink satellites traveling together in the night sky. But then more were launched, and then more. And astronomers began to worry.
Because the satellites are bright, astronomers say they’re photobombing astronomical images. Therefore, they have the potential to interfere with the professional astronomical observations that have brought us our modern-day view of the cosmos. And although SpaceX has tried to address the issue, they remain far from what astronomers say is acceptable.
Bottom line: SpaceX currently has one Starlink launch planned for the month of February 2024.
Read more: Starlink satellites can look like a plume or train of light
The post List of SpaceX Starlink launches for February 2024 first appeared on EarthSky.
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