Questions tagged [starlink]
Questions about Starlink, the satellite constellation developed by SpaceX to provide global broadband Internet
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How to explain the fast motion of the Starlink satellite in this video?
My friend in Łódź sent me this video today:
https://i.imgur.com/EmpNzfs.mp4
This was observed in Widzew district, at 20:42 Warsaw time. He has two questions:
given that it looks like it's Starlink ...
9
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0answers
75 views
Do Starlink satellites have cameras?
Obviously, Starlink satellites are equipped with sensors for attitude and location detection (like a star tracker or sun tracker) but I'm wondering if they have with any direct Earth observation ...
3
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1answer
177 views
Is Starlink 1130 (Darksat) really dimmer?
I measured a couple of Starlink satellites tonight, finally, Starlink 1130 (Darksat) arrived (March 17th 2020, 20:15 local time). I could not see the sat on the screen although I turned up to gain a ...
3
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1answer
105 views
What are the orbits of all Starlink satellites launched?
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 ...
4
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1answer
126 views
Satellite communications interference due to Starlink by SpaceX
As of 8th February 2020, SpaceX has launched 242 Starlink satellites.
To what extent will SpaceX's launch of its Starlink satellites affect satellite communications for other satellites?
How much (...
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1answer
577 views
Do the latest Starlink satellites use inter-satellite laser communications?
Do the latest (as of Jan 30, 2020) Starlink satellites use inter-satellite laser communications?
I can't find any info about that!
5
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1answer
258 views
Astrophotographer Thierry Legault is not convinced that DarkSat is darker than the others. Have photometric measurements been reported?
In the video below Passage of 7 Starlink satellites including (supposed) "darksat" world renowned astrophotographer Thierry Legault is not impressed by DarkSat's darkness:
SpaceX said they have ...
5
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1answer
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Landing legs problem with Falcon 9 Block 5 / Starlink 3 mission
Is this a late landing burn problem? it seems that the engine touch the OCISLY ground as the landing legs flex.
Landing occurs at about T+0:08:20
4
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1answer
126 views
Replacement strategies for defective Starlink satellites
I wonder what is the approach to replace let's say: 5 defective Starlink satellites, each one in a different orbit? I guess that it can't be done with just one launch as the krypton ion thrusters ...
5
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1answer
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Which of the recently launched Starlink satellites is the coated one?
Does anybody of you experts know which of the recently launched Starlink satellites is the coated one?
We are occasionally measuring their brightness and would like to compare uncoated vs. coated.
...
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121 views
What attitudes will Starlink satellites have in different orbits?
I'd like to simulate the visibility of the tens of thousands of satellites on Earth based on descriptions of the distribution of orbits and their segments illuminated by the Sun visible to locations ...
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187 views
What is the mysterious object flying by in this SpaceX video?
In the last second of this video tweeted by spaceX, you can see an object fly by on screen. Did this come from the SpaceX ship, or is it foreign space junk? If it turns out to be the latter, is that a ...
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1answer
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Has FCC jurisdiction for all the world for SpaceX's Starlink position?
These days, you can read in the news that SpaceX requested FCC for permission to change the orbit of the Starlink satellites already in orbit.
Now... from my understanding, the Starlink satellites ...
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How do the Starlink satellites shine?
As we can see the Starlink satellites with the naked eye as they pass by. I was wondering about what makes them visible.
Do they have large mirrors that reflect the sunlight making them look as if ...
2
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1answer
80 views
Space Debris and Megaconstellations: plans for ~1000kms altitude orbits
SpaceX's Starlink and other mega-constellation plans highlight safe de-orbiting features but does this also extend to altitudes higher than 1,000 kms?
My concern is whether these smaller sats will ...
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Why is one Starlink satellite not following the adjacent one in this image?
The following image shows trails of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites as seen in the sky above the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile:
Image Source: SpaceX’s Newly Launched Starlink ...
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Would a vantablack coating on the starlink satellites cause overheating problems? [duplicate]
I'm an amateur astronomer and have recently being hearing space x catching alot of flack for the amount of reflection the satellites would cause. While I believe that program is more important than my ...
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1answer
184 views
SpaceX's Starlink and astronomy
I was reading articles about Starlink and some concerned astronomers that SpaceX Starlink will lead to more space junk and eventually the death of ground based astronomy. I am just wondering how ...
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1answer
179 views
What are the bottlenecks stopping SpaceX from launching more frequent batches of Starlink?
If Starlink truly has a large financial potential for SpaceX, how come they are not launching a batch of these satellites every day? What are the bottlenecks?
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1answer
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Can / should the Starlink satellites be blackened?
So that they are not as visible? I assume the SpaceX engineers have considered this option.
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1answer
76 views
Possible interference in RF spectrum due to space-based internet
Multiple Commercial Operators plan to use satellite megaconstellations for providing internet coverage in near future.
Is there a possibility of interference between RF spectrum already in use for ...
7
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1answer
167 views
Technical feasibility of a country at least partially preventing use of internet from satellite constellations?
The interesting Politics SE question To what extent can a government control satellite internet compared to internet from a local ISP? asks from the perspective of politics and international law, but ...
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0answers
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Satellite Megaconstellations RF Spectrum usage for free(?)
As per my understanding, for terrestrial usage RF spectrum is auctioned by the governments before telecom operators can avail it for commercial purpose. Seems like a logical way to utilise limited ...
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Satellite Launch Aprroval: what is the role of ITU, FCC, and other international standards / regulators?
Seeking confirmation for the following assumption:
Satellites used for non-communication applications (military surveillance, weather monitoring etc.) are launched without specific prior approval from ...
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2answers
446 views
Who built Starlink's electric propulsion systems?
Wondering who actually built the Starlink propulsion systems?
Did SpaceX develop this technology in-house, outsource or acquire a company that had the IP and bring this back in-house?
Very curious ...
7
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1answer
201 views
How has the brightness of SpaceX's Starlink constellation changed since May?
Shortly after the launch, before full orientation of the solar panels and raising of the orbits, the Starlink satellites were surprisingly bright and easily seen with the naked eye.
Back then, I heard ...
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1answer
514 views
Is it feasible to paint SpaceX Starlink satellites black so as not to frequently saturate the CCDs of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope?
update: From Nature.com News article: SpaceX launch highlights threat to astronomy from ‘megaconstellations’:
But an upcoming, cutting-edge telescope could be in bigger trouble. The US Large ...
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212 views
How is the brightness of satellites measured?
We would like to perform measurements of the brightness of Starlink satellites.
Is there any approved technique available ?
I see the name Mike McCants connected with magnitude values of ...
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133 views
Has SpaceX made any commentary on StarLink posing a threat to astronomy? [duplicate]
As an amateur astronomer I've always wondered how detrimental 1,000 StarLink satellites could be to viewing the stars from an Earth-bound location. Apparently, according to this article, it is a lot ...
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2answers
256 views
How quickly can the Starlink spacecraft respond to an impending collision?
update: The word "refused" might be inaccurate:
CNET: ESA's near collision with SpaceX Starlink satellite blamed on a 'bug'
Ars Technica: SpaceX satellite was on “collision course” until ESA ...
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1answer
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Is SpaceX propulsively deorbiting a Starlink satellite already?
The plot below shows that most of the SpaceX Starlink satellites have moved from circa 450 km to circa 550 kilometers already, using their argon-based ion engines.
A few, along with four unidentified ...
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1answer
149 views
Would SpaceX's Starlink constellation contribute inordinately to space debris?
I mean they already launched a large constellation of 60 satellites and have plans to launch many more; won't all this contribute inordinately to existing space junk, which is actually becoming a real ...
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1answer
385 views
What are these four “debris” objects along with the Starlink satellites?
Celestrak has an updated system of categories for retrieving lists of current TLEs, and there's already one for Starlink, yay!
Currently https://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/starlink.txt contains ...
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1answer
193 views
What are Starlink's available momentum unloading strategies?
Today's Teslarati article SpaceX wants to offer Starlink internet to consumers after just six launches talks about the new website https://www.starlink.com/ shows several images from it, and tries to ...
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1answer
492 views
Delta-V of Starlink Satellites
The recently launched Starlink satellites are designed to use their HAL Ion thrusters to seek their own independent orbits, evade collisions, and de-orbit at the end of their lives. That's a lot of ...
2
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0answers
170 views
Larger data rate, Oneweb or Starlink? [closed]
Which satellite constellation will provide the larger downlink data rate, in total and per satellite, Oneweb or Starlink?
My consideration: starlink will operate in a lower orbit, with more ...
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2answers
1k views
Is the Starlink array really visible from Earth?
I was browsing YouTube when I came across this video, recorded from a sky gazer who apparently spotted the Starlink satellites. In my lifetime, I haven't seen many satellites in the night skies (maybe ...
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What caused these strange lights around the Falcon 9 grid fins (Starlink launch)?
Early in the video of the launch of the first sixty SpaceX Starlink satellites we can see that after stage separation the first stage grid fins open.
Around that time there are some phenomena I don't ...
2
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1answer
94 views
Impact of Constellations on Space Debris and Launch Windows
With the decline of massive GEO satellites and a big increase in smallsat and cubesat, especially those in constellations, I wonder what their impact is on space debris.
Those smaller satellites do ...
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2answers
795 views
What performance specification would be lower for Krypton than for Xenon in Hall effect thrusters?
The Ars Technica article SpaceX scrubs first attempt to launch 60 Internet satellites [Updated] (found here) discusses the use of Krypton rather than Xenon in the Starlink Hall effect ion thrusters:
...
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1answer
549 views
How will Starlink satellites deploy from the fairing and reach their orbits?
Elon Musk posted this picture of the first 60 Starlink satellites packed densely into the fairing of the Falcon scheduled to launch in a few hours.
There doesn't appear to be a launcher or ejector to ...
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2answers
6k views
Why will Starlink satellites use krypton instead of xenon for electric propulsion?
The press kit for the first Falcon 9 Starlink launch and deployment of the first 60 satllites scheduled for May 15, 2019 says:
With a flat-panel design featuring multiple high-throughput antennas ...
4
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1answer
232 views
How will Starlink satellites be capable of tracking on-orbit debris and autonomously avoiding collision?
The press kit for the first Falcon 9 Starlink launch and deployment of the first 60 satllites scheduled for May 15, 2019 says:
Starlink satellites are capable of tracking on-orbit debris and ...
4
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1answer
327 views
What does the StarLink constellation look like now? Numbers of planes and inclinations?
In the question SpaceX's 4,425 satellite constellation - what's the method to the madness? I took the orbital parameters in SpaceX's filing SpaceX non-Geostationary Satellite System Attachment A - ...
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1answer
192 views
How are satellites made “demisable” and what else do recent FAA documents tell us about SpaceX's plans for StarLink satellites?
Comments in chat mention that recent FAA documents show that there have been design changes in the StarLink satellites that make future builds "demisable".
This sounds interesting but I don't really ...
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0answers
182 views
Have the Starlink precursor Tintin satellites been talking to each other? If so, how?
Tintin A and B are the first two exploratory and testing spacecraft for SpaceX's Starlink program.
It looks like they are in very similar orbits in both space and time, and are probably that way so ...
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0answers
560 views
What technology will SpaceX's StarLink satellites most likely use for sat-to-sat linking?
The question How does SpaceX plan to make money with StarLink Broadband? has got me thinking about how the satellites will link to each other.
Wikipedia says it's something greater than 10,000 GHz ...
