4
$\begingroup$

Latest batch of SpaceX Starlink satellites went into elliptical orbit.

Using all available data (launch times, release times, applications by SpaceX etc), what are the orbits of all current 300 Starlink satellites? Over what areas of the earth would you expect them to orbit?

$\endgroup$
4
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Latest batch is in Celestrak but it's not showing TLEs at the moment, nor is Space-Track. There may be some amateur satellite observing websites, blogs, or reddits that post estimated TLEs for the newly-launched, but I don't know where those are. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Feb 18, 2020 at 12:55
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you. I am no expert. Is it possible to say anything what areas of the earth are covered? $\endgroup$
    – spa
    Commented Feb 18, 2020 at 12:59
  • $\begingroup$ It's all I know, but I think there will be answers posted fairly soon. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Feb 18, 2020 at 13:00
  • $\begingroup$ This video may be helpful: youtube.com/… $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 18, 2020 at 18:18

1 Answer 1

4
$\begingroup$

Over what areas of the earth would you expect them to orbit?

Short answer: Over all areas except for the poles.

Long answer:

Seen from Earth, a satellite that isn't in a geosynchronous orbit will always move around the earth - so it'll cover every degree of longitude. Latitude is a bit different, the highest latitude a satellite will reach (i.e. the latitude it will be right above) will always be the same as the satellites inclination. I'd assume that starlink satellites won't have inclinations of 90°, wikipedia currently states 81° as the highest inclination.

Based on this and the fact that the satellites will be in low orbits (~550km), the areas close to the geographical poles MIGHT not be covered and everything else will be covered. Unless the signal gets blocked, as it might be the case in deep caves or some buildings.

Source for starlink satellite data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starlink

$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.