American spacecraft manufacturer and satellite communications company, SpaceX, has launched a Falcon 9 22 second-generation Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit.
The upgraded second-generation satellite, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with 22 upgraded second-generation Starlink satellites inside its nose cone.
The satellite is fitted with improved phased array antennas with four times the communications capacity of earlier generations of Starlink satellites, known as Version 1.5, to beam internet signals to consumers around the world. The full-size Starlink Satellite will be capable of transmitting signals directly to cell phones.
Notably, the first group of 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites was launched on February 27 this year, on a Falcon 9 rocket. Like all Starlink launches, the Falcon 9 rocket with the first batch of Starlink V2 Mini spacecraft released the payloads into an orbit below their final operating altitude.
In addition to improved communications capability, the Starlink V2 Mini satellites have more efficient, higher-thrust argon-fueled propulsion systems. This means Starlink can provide more bandwidth with increased reliability and connect millions of more people around the world with high-speed internet.
The satellites could improve Starlink coverage over lower latitude regions, and help alleviate pressure on the network from growing consumer uptake.
It is worth noting that SpaceX has already launched three batches of OneWeb internet satellites, sending 40 spacecraft skyward on each of those previous missions.
Investors King understands that last year the company teamed up with T-Mobile on a connectivity plan called Coverage Above and Beyond, which aims to provide smartphone connectivity to T-Mobile customers almost everywhere.
The company which was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to colonization of Mars, has more than 1 million active subscribers, mostly households in areas where conventional fiber connectivity is unavailable, unreliable, or expensive.
In January 2020, spaced became the largest-ever satellite constellation, and as of December 2022, it had more than 3,300 small satellites in orbit.