Satellite deployment is scheduled to take place in about an hour. Friday’s launch took place at Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at the West Coast launch site and entered an orbit of 53.2 degrees in the fourth tier of the Starlink constellation.
As it is currently designed, the first-generation Starlink constellation will consist of 4,408 satellites. Before Friday’s launch, 2,494 satellites had been launched; however, that number included more than 240 that had been retired, failed post-deployment or were rejected during in-orbit testing. The addition of an additional 53 satellites brings the launch total to 2,547.
Starlink is a space-based system that SpaceX has been building for years to provide internet access to underserved regions of the world. Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX has hundreds of Starlink satellites orbiting Earth at an altitude of 340 miles (550 kilometers).
