Starlink satellite train

An artist's conception of the Starlink constellation encircling the Earth. Credit: SpaceX It's one of the stranger sights of the modern Space Age. Recently, we found ourselves under the relatively dark skies of southern Spain. Sure enough, within a few minutes, we caught sight of a chain of flashing "stars" winking in and out of view in quick succession. Starlink trains are now a familiar sight, the boon and bane of the modern era. While SpaceX's mega-satellite promises to become a true disruptor in the worldwide internet game, it also has the potential to add to the burden of light pollution in the night sky. Will there soon come a time in the not-too-distant future when moving artificial "stars" outnumber real ones? The rise of Starlink The problem for astronomers didn't really become apparent until the first launch of 60 Starlink satellites in May 2019. To date, SpaceX has launched Starlink batches at a breakneck pace, with over 2,900 total deployed and 2,286 still in orbit and in service as of early August 2022. SpaceX ultimately wants to put 12,000 Starlinks in low Earth orbit (as currently approved by the FCC) with provisions for a possible 30,000 more. The Starlink internet service went live in late 2020. Unlike the nascent Iridium constellation—which really only found niche applications—Starlink is already proving its worth. For example, Starlink is currently keeping the internet on in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion. The main concern in professional as...

Almost 15 years later, seeing the aurora borealis is a bit like a drug, says photographer Ronn Murray. “Once you get a taste for it … you’re always trying to see it again because you get this kind of spiritual high from it.” The lakes by Delta Junction in Alaska weren’t frozen over yet when it was just dark enough to see the magical halation over the night’s sky and another phenomenon Murray instantly knew — a moving train of lights. Guide and part-owner of the Solar panels unfold after launch extending to over 26 ft (8 m) “We were a bit baffled at first then realized, ‘wait that must be Starlink.’ Then my wife got her star tracker app out, and it showed that’s what we had seen.” The view, while equal parts mesmerizing as it is surprising, has astronomers wondering, is there any way to dim the lights on these satellites or are we doomed to a mega constellation future? Murray captured the 46 objects launched on Aug. 31 by SpaceX clumped together, reflecting the sun back to observers on Earth. These satellites are part of the growing Starlink constellation aimed at providing broadband internet across the globe, much in the manner Global Positioning System (GPS) provides location data to cellphones around the planet. But unlike GPS, the task requires tens of thousands of satellites for service to work without drops in coverage. In three years, the aerospace company SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has gone from 60 satellites to launching over 3,500 Starlinks to date. Nearly half o...

SpaceX’s Starlink Group 6-2 launched on April 19, 2023. Image via Starlink launches in May 2023 Starlink satellites are equipped with optical space lasers (pew pew), which allow us to provide truly global coverage and serve customers in the most remote locations on Earth — Starlink (@Starlink) Starlink Group 2-10: May 31, 2023, Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB, California | SUCCESS Starlink Group 6-3: May 18, 2023, Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral, Florida | SUCCESS Starlink Group 5-9: May 14, 2023, Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral, Florida | SUCCESS Starlink Group 2-9: May 10, 2023, Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB, California | SUCCESS Starlink Group 5-6: May 4, 2023, Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral, Florida | SUCCESS You can check back here or go directly to After launch, look for a train of lights Following every Starlink launch, the internet buzzes with people asking: What’s that long line of lights in the sky that looks like a train? What you’re seeing is the Starlink satellites moving into a higher orbit. You can check to see if they will pass over your area using the Growing numbers amid controversy According to Love ’em or hate ’em, these Starlink satellites are part of SpaceX’s vision for a global internet communication satellite constellation. They deliver high-speed internet service worldwide, mainly to locations where ground-based internet is unreliable, unavailable, or expensive. The private company is well-known for launching batches back-to-back, seve...

Video: Starlink train crossing sky Look carefully at the video above, and you’ll see a Here’s a real-time video recording of the passage of a newly-launched batch of StarLink satellites crossing the sky, showing them as they appear to the unaided eye. They are bright for the first few days after launch. This was May 16, 2022. Thank for showing us, Alan! By the way, Alan included an interesting narration, in which he describes seeing a Starlink train whose individual satellites looked as bright as a Once launched, a Falcon 9 launch vehicle deploys its batch of 60 Starlink satellites into an initial ‘parking orbit’ at around 270 miles (440 km) above Earth. From there, the individual satellites unfurl their solar panels and slowly start to spread out around the planet. Each satellite also uses its thrusters to gradually boost itself to a higher altitude … As the satellites climb, they grow dimmer, reflecting less sunlight back toward Earth. There are now about 2,500 Starlinks in orbit around Earth, and SpaceX is launching at a breakneck pace to get more up there. They’ll be used to establish a network for global internet coverage. In fact, the company launched another batch on May 18, 2022, as shown in the Facebook post below: In case you’re interested, the video below shows the May 14, 2022, launch of the same Starlinks Alan captured on May 16. Bottom line: Video from May 16, 2022, showing a Starlink satellite train crossing the sky as viewed from Canada. And a second video,...