Magazine

Musk Says SpaceX is ‘fixing’ Brightness from Satellites

Posted on the 23 April 2020 by Thiruvenkatam Chinnagounder @tipsclear

Musk says SpaceX is ‘fixing’ brightness from satellites

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said the company is "fixing" the brightness of its satellites.

Star observers around the world, including many British, have witnessed unusual constellations of the spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

SpaceX has launched large batches of satellites as part of its Starlink project to improve global Internet coverage.

The last launch took place on Wednesday.

Responding to a question about the brightness of the Starlink satellites on Twitter, Musk said that this is due to the angle of the satellite's solar panels and that the company "is fixing it now."

A solution could make them less visible from Earth.

Finally, SpaceX's Starlink project aims to create a network of 12,000 satellites that transmit broadband Internet access to Earth.

Many of the now visible satellites were sent in March, but their current orbital position has made them easier to see in the past few days.

These satellites are also particularly bright because of their size and proximity to Earth. Large satellites are generally sent in higher orbit. Low orbit satellites are generally smaller.

Starlink satellites also have large flat panels, which reflect light.

SpaceX is working on a "parasol" that will reduce the reflection of the satellites sent in future launches.

According to astronomers, the visibility of satellites is now less of a problem for them than it will be when the constellation grows and becomes operational.

Currently, the spaceship is in a parked orbit, but in the coming months the boat will use the onboard engines to move more slowly from the Earth and rotate the solar panels towards the Sun. This will make them less visible to the naked eye, but it could mean that they cause light pollution to astronomers looking to photograph the most distant spaces in space.

"Astronomers' cameras are designed to take pictures of really weak things and intense light could ruin the data," explained Dr. Jonathan McDowell, astronomer from the Center for Astrophysics, a research center at Harvard University.

"I congratulate you on the fact that [SpaceX] he really tried to find ways to make them less bright, "he said.

But the dr. McDowell added that there is another problem with the launch of so many new low-orbit satellites: the increase in traffic.

The growing number of low-orbit boats increases the possibility of accidents between objects that could damage the machines or send materials to the ground.

SpaceX launches continued despite the blockade of Covid-19 in the United States, where SpaceX is headquartered.

Wednesday's launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida was the fourth for Starlink this year and the seventh time it sent a large batch of spacecraft into orbit.


Back to Featured Articles on Logo Paperblog