Nearly 2000 satellite chains are online, and Musk: 1469 is active.

Space Exploration Technology Company launched 1993 "Star Chain" satellites. How many of these satellites are still in operation?

65438+1October 16, Musk disclosed on social media that 1469 "star chain" satellites are running, 272 satellites are entering orbit, and satellite laser link communication is about to be activated.

Since the first batch of 60 "Star Chain" satellites were launched in May, Space Exploration Technology Company has launched 20 199 1 Star Chain satellites. If we count the two experimental satellites Microsat-2A and Microsat-2B launched in February 2065438+2008, Space Exploration Technology Company launched 1993 "Star Chain" satellites.

In 2022, the world's first space mission was that Space Exploration Technology Company deployed a new batch of 49 "Star Chain" satellites at 65438+1October 6, US Eastern Time. Next, Space Exploration Technologies plans to send another 49 "Star Chain" satellites at 65438+1October 17 EST, when the launch scale of "Star Chain" will exceed 2,000.

In the future, Space Exploration Technology intends to abandon the plan of launching 30,000 satellites of the second-generation "Star Chain" broadband constellation with Falcon 9, and use the upcoming "Starship". The implementation of the Starship mission is subject to an environmental assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the launch facility of Space Exploration Technologies in Boca Chica, Texas, which is expected to be completed on February 28th.

According to SpaceNews, William Wiltshire, a lawyer of Space Exploration Technology Company, mentioned in a recent letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that Space Exploration Technology Company "can launch the second generation system as early as March 2022". However, the FCC has not approved the larger second-generation constellation plan of Space Exploration Technology Company, and the configuration of Space Exploration Technology Company's launch with "starship" has been determined, so the FCC is required to speed up the approval.

Wiltshire wrote that just as terrestrial wireless networks run more than one generation of technologies at the same time to meet customers' needs, Space Exploration Technologies plans to use two networks to provide better services. "Even in the initial deployment of the second-generation system, Space Exploration Technology will continue to maintain the first-generation system and launch appropriate supplementary satellites to maintain its orbit. What needs to be clear is that running two systems at the same time does not mean that space exploration technology companies will definitely run all satellites under their authorization at any time and in any region. "

Proofreading: Liu Wei