Starlink

SpaceX has found a new home for its satellite-powered internet, inking a deal with independent air carrier JSX to offer onboard Wi-Fi to customers later this year, making the airline the first to carry SpaceX's Starlink internet service.

SpaceX has lost up to 40 satellites of its Starlink internet constellation due to a geomagnetic storm that is knocking them out of orbit. The satellites were part of a batch of 49 that were launched on February 3 and had not reached their operational altitude.

SpaceX has introduced a new premium version of its Starlink internet with download speeds of up to 500 Mbps – but it will cost a great deal more than the standard 250 Mbps service.

SpaceX's aspirations to blanket the Earth in high-speed internet through a constellation of orbiting satellites continues apace, and a new study demonstrates the significant mark they are already making on the world of astronomical imaging.

SpaceX has been able to cut its satellite’s apparent brightness in half by using a dark coating on one of its satellites. Applying the coating to future satellites would help reduce their impact on delicate telescope observations of the night sky.

SpaceX began launching its Starlink satellites into orbit last year in a bid to eventually blanket the Earth in high-speed internet, and while the mega-constellation is far from complete, some are already tapping into the connectivity on offer.

SpaceX has followed last week's historic launch by firing a further 60 high-speed internet satellites into orbit as part of its Starlink project, including one fitted out with an experimental sun visor designed to reduce the reflectivity.

SpaceX has announced that it will mount a sun visor on each of its Starlink satellites and have them perform controlled maneuvers, to make them less visible to the public and astronomers making detailed observations of the night sky.

The introduction of 26 thousand new megaconstellation satellites could have a significant effect on ground-based astronomy, according to a new study commissioned by the European Southern Observatory.

Astronomers go to great lengths to find the quietest, darkest corners of the night sky, but a new breed of satellites like those of SpaceX's Starlink project threaten to ruin the views in very damaging ways. And the problems don't end there.

Central to SpaceX's mission of making rocket launches as cheap as possible is recovering and recycling as many components as possible, and it today took another significant step toward this aim, flying a recovered payload fairing for the first time.

ESA has been forced to reposition its Aeolus satellite to avoid a collision with a member of SpaceX’s Starlink mega constellation.