On June 4 at 3:25 Polish time, the Falcon 9 rocket with the Starlink-8 mission will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As during previous launches under the program, 60 new Starlink satellites will go into orbit.
As the name suggests, this will be the eighth batch of satellites forming a powerful mega-constellation of satellites whose task will be to share the internet around the world. To date, 420 satellites of the constellations have already reached the orbit (5 of them have already finished their work and entered the Earth's atmosphere). In total, the constellation will consist of up to 13,000 satellites, but Elon Musk has already submitted an application to allow the constellation to be extended to up to 40,000 satellites.
Starlink and astronomical observations
From the moment the first batch of satellites were sent, the space exploration community made reservations about the fact that, right after the start, the satellites were visible in the sky as entire strings of bright lights that prevented astronomical observations using the largest terrestrial telescopes.
After many arrangements with the astronomers' environment, during today's flight the first satellite equipped with the VisorSat folding solar shield will go into orbit, which is designed to significantly reduce the amount of light reflected by the satellite. If the cover works, and the satellite equipped with it is much darker than the others, then all satellites sent in subsequent batches will be equipped with such screens.
Today's start
During today's launch, the first member of Falcon 9, which has already participated in four other missions, will be used to launch satellites into orbit. After disconnecting from the rocket, the first member will attempt to land on the ocean platform Just Read the Instructions. Satellites will separate from the rocket about 15 minutes after launch.
Rocket launch will be broadcast live below.
Starlink over Poland - where will it be seen?
Already 20 minutes after launch, the satellites will be flying over Europe. An attempt to spot the satellites should be made primarily by the inhabitants of south-west Poland, from where both the satellites and the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket will be visible. In the rest of the country, the satellite train will be clearly visible tomorrow after 23:00. Detailed information when and where to look to see satellites will be given tomorrow after updating the orbital parameters of the satellites.
Today, however, for example in Sosnowiec it will be possible to watch Starlinki from 3:46 to 3:54. In the search for satellites, one should look towards the west horizon, with a slight deviation to the south.
Starlink over Poland - a new batch of satellites starts at night
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