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SpaceX loses contact with three Starlink satellites

30 June 2019 16:29 (UTC+04:00)
SpaceX loses contact with three Starlink satellites

By Trend

According to SpaceX, 57 of the 60 Starlink satellites sent to space have been working properly, while three others lost communication with Earth. In the meantime, the company has noted that 45 of the satellites have reached their final intended orbits of 550 kilometres (342 miles) up, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

"57 Starlink satellites are communicating with SpaceX's Earth stations using their broadband phased array antennas. 45 Starlink satellites have reached their operational altitude using their onboard propulsion systems, five additional satellites continue their orbit raise, as five others are going through check-outs prior to completing their orbit raise. Two satellites are being intentionally deorbited to simulate an end of life disposal", SpaceX told Business Insider.

The Starlink project was launched in 2015 in a bid to develop global low-cost and high-performance internet. SpaceX has reportedly raised over $500 million to launch as many as 12,000 satellites. The network is expected to become operational after at least 800 of them are deployed into Earth's orbit. The programme is estimated to cost at least 10 billion dollars.

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