SpaceX’s upcoming orbital Starship flight test will enable the company to collect valuable data of the vehicle in flight, as well as demonstrate that its Starlink broadband constellation can beam internet communication to the spacecraft in motion. Their current flight plan is to launch Super Heavy from Starbase South Texas and land it on water in the Gulf of Mexico, soon after dropping off Starship SN20 to orbit. The spacecraft will continue flying in orbit above the Florida Straits, then reenter Earth’s atmosphere to splashdown off the northwest coast of Kauai, Hawaii, near a military base.
With approximately 1,740 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth, SpaceX plans to demonstrate how the broadband network can provide data to Starship even during the parts of the launch where communications signals are lost due to the presence of ‘ionized plasma’ in the atmosphere as spacecraft re-enters. According to a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX seeks authorization to test its Starlink internet network during the debut orbital flight. “SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” the company’s Special Temporary Authority (STA) application says, “SpaceX intends to mount Starlink satellite terminals on the Super Heavy booster and orbital Starship for Starship’s first orbital test flight and use these terminals to communicate with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation.”
SpaceX’s objective is to “demonstrate high data rate communications with Starship and the Super Heavy Booster on the ground at the launch site in Starbase, TX during launch, during booster recovery, in flight, and during reentry,” the company stated. “Starlink can provide unprecedented volumes of telemetry and enable communications during atmospheric reentry when ionized plasma around the spacecraft inhibits conventional telemetry frequencies. These tests will demonstrate Starlink’s ability to improve the efficiency and safety of future orbital spaceflight missions,” SpaceX said.
On Friday, August 13, SpaceX submitted another FCC application seeking approval to operate Starlink during “ground testing of Starship prototype orbital test vehicle communications at Boca Chica TX site,” the application states. They request permission to operate the terminal starting on September 16, 2021 through March 2022. The timeframe suggests we could see a Starship fly to orbit as soon as next month if the company receives regulatory approval from all federal agencies. SpaceX is still pending an environmental review from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Featured Image Source: SpaceX Elon Musk
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
