SpaceX shows off new Starlink V2 “Mini” satellites

SpaceX is set to launch 21 miniature Next generation Starlink releases satellite into low Earth orbit later today. V2 Mini, as SpaceX calls itis an agreement 1 copy The company hopes to launch the next Starship rocket.

The company’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites will work launch Aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday at 6:13 EST from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Before launching, SpaceX open New satellite details via a series of tweets on Sunday.

SpaceX wrote on Twitter that the second generation of Starlink satellites will be equipped with more powerful antennas and high-speed frequencies, “which will allow Starlink to provide 4x more capacity per satellite than previous iterations.” The V2 Minis also come with Hall thrusters that run on argon fuel, which is a cheaper alternative to the xenon fuel commonly used for satellite propulsion systems, according to SpaceX. This will determine “For the first time ever, argon hole thrusters have been operated in space,” the company Claims.

SpaceX has kept its V2 Mini s specificationsAteliers under wraps. However, speculation about smaller, next-generation satellites is beginning to surface when The company submitted an application with the FCC to grant it temporary authority to launch larger broadband satellites. In its letter, SpaceX announced its intention to shrink the size of the second-generation satellites so that the Falcon 9 could carry them into space..

The V2 Mini will operate under a license recently granted by the FCC. In December 2022, the commission He accepted SpaceX’s request To launch 7,500 Gen2s into low Earth orbit. The company requested 29,988 Starlink satellite launches, but the FCC granted approval for only a quarter of the total “to protect other satellite and terrestrial operators from harmful interference,” the FCC said in its request.

Full-size V2 engines are designed to be more efficient, but they are much heavier than their predecessors. V2s will Measures It is 22 feet (7 m) long and weighs about 2,755 lbs (1,250 kg), while previous versions weighed about 573 lbs (260 kg).

In order to launch this heavy payload, SpaceX needs to see it through The upcoming Starship missile. The company has been trying to launch its massive rockets since the summer of 2021, and Starship may finally be ready for it First orbital test flight in Marchpending a launch permit from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Until the Starship is ready for operational flights to low Earth orbit, SpaceX has opted to build a smaller version of its V2 satellites that can fit on its operational Falcon 9 rocket. But the company is still looking forward to seeing a Megarocket take off so it can carry full-sized V2s into low Earth orbit. . At this point, SpaceX will likely replace the V2 Minis with their larger, more capable counterparts.

Speaking at the Space Mobility Conference in Orlando, Florida, SpaceX sjunior drmanager national ssecurity simage speedSolutions Gary Henry has been quoted as saying that the next generation of Starlink satellites is “waiting very patiently to be launched on the Starship.”

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