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Starship is just one of the programs it runs SpaceX (although it is the most futuristic). While the possible orbital test of the new fully reusable heavy launch vehicle is approaching, the ever-reliable family of medium/heavy launchers Falcon keep making throws one after another. Three launches were expected today, including that of Crew-6 towards the International Space Station.
Things did not go as planned and Crew-6 was unable to leave due to a problem with the ground systems that supply the TEA-TEB (triethylborane) which is used to ignite the mixture of RP-1 and liquid oxygen that feed the engines Merlin-1D gods Falcon 9. No problem for the crew but we will still have to wait until March 2nd. In the meantime, Elon Musk’s company will aim to put new Starlink satelliteswith some news.
SpaceX and the new Starlink V2 mini satellites
Of the two launches, the first is now scheduled (after an update) at 0:13 tomorrow from Florida while the second is scheduled for tomorrow evening from California (after a postponement due to bad weather). While the latter will be the launch of Starlink satellites of the previous generation (1.5) the first is the most important as it is V2mini (second generation), which had already been written about in the past.
Initially SpaceX had intended to launch the second generation satellites only through Starship, but having to wait some time before tests with payload on board, the company had to fall back on modified versions that could be launched with a medium carrier such as Falcon 9.
According to what was reported by SpaceX itself in one discussion on Twitter the new ones Starlink V2mini they will have several advantages. For example, they use antennas phased array more powerful and allow the use of E-band thus providing approximately four times the capacity compared to the previous generation. This should allow you to connect an increasing number of users simultaneously providing a better service.
Another novelty concerns the use of Hall effect thrusters that they use argon like gas. This means using a more abundant and cheaper element than krypton (other companies use xenon) used in the previous generation, also obtaining better performance. This is because with the growth of units launched, the availability of krypton would become a limiting factor, while argon is much more abundant.
These thrusters were developed in-house by SpaceX allowing 2.4 times the thrust and 1.5 times the specific impulse compared to the previous generation. The company also points out that argon is being used for this purpose for the first time in space. The specifications report 170 Nm of thrust and 2500″ of specific impulse, a 50% increase in efficiency, 4.2 kW of power and 2.1 kg of mass.
Although V2mini these new satellites starlinks they will not launch with the same number of units as the previous generation. Indeed in tonight’s launch the Falcon 9 will send them into orbit “only” 21 instead of the usual (about) 50 satellites. When Starship becomes operational we will instead see the launch of the standard V2 satellites with further improvements in terms of capacity still improving the service (and increasing the units available).
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