ELON Musk’s rocket-blasting SpaceX is due to launch 22 satellites into space today – and it should be visible from at least two states.
The billionaire’s space company is preparing to use a Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a Starlink payload to low-Earth orbit.
Musk’s fleet of Starlink satellites are designed to beam down internet to customers on Earth.
It’s an alternative to cabled internet that requires minimal on-the-ground infrastructure.
The launch is expected to take place at 7.30pm PDT (10.30pm EDT) from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, north of Los Angeles.
But it’s also set to be visible from Arizona – and potentially other nearby states too.
Previous Starlink launches have also reportedly been seen in Nevada and even Utah.
The first Starlink launches took place in 2019, and SpaceX has now placed over 6,000 of the satellites into orbit.
Musk is hoping to reach an initial goal of at least 12,000 satellites in orbit, with a possible extension to 42,000.
As many as 2.6 million Starlink subscribers are receiving internet from SpaceX.
Thursday’s launch is set to take place using one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets.
And it could launch as late as 11:24pm PDT.
SpaceX is expected to target the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster landing on a droneship in the Pacific Ocean named Of Course I Still Love You.
SpaceX has made dozens of Starlink launches, but Musk is preparing for something much more exciting.
The billionaire tech mogul is expecting to make his next Starship launch in early May.
He hopes that the rocket will make it to orbit and then come safely back to Earth for the first time.
“Getting ready for Flight 4 of Starship,” Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“Goal of this mission is for Starship to get through max reentry heating with all systems functioning.”
Starship is a super-heavy rocket that’s the largest and most powerful ever flown.
It’s designed to be reusable, although the rocket has yet to make a successful return to Earth.
SpaceX first tested the Starship system in April 2023, ultimately ending in a loss-of-control and destruction just minutes after launch.
A second test took place in November 2023, with a successful stage separation followed by a booster explosion.
The third test flight in March 2024 saw Starship complete a full-duration second stage burn – but it broke up during atmospheric re-entry.
Getting ready for Flight 4 of Starship.
Elon Musk
Musk is hoping that the fourth test will see a successful return to Earth, paving the way for eventual commercial use of Starship.
Ultimately, Musk plans for Starship to enable missions to orbit, the Moon, and eventually even to Mars.
ELON MUSK is the CEO of Tesla Motors, Space x, founder of The Boring Company, and co-founder of Neuralink and open AI
Fun Facts
Space x
Space x was founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
