After a two month break, SpaceX is resuming Starlink satellites in August. The company scheduled two separate missions in August to depart Earth from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The first mission will carry 60 Starlink satellites on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket will depart no earlier than August 10, while a second mission with an additional 60 Starlink satellites is scheduled for August 16.
The last Starlink launch was back on June 30. The company sent three satellites into polar orbit as part of a rideshare flight with Transporter-2’s.
However, the launch pace slows down is not a surprise. Back in May, SpaceX completed the construction of its first orbital shell of 1,600 satellites. This shell is large enough to provide basic broadband service to most parts of the globe. With these additional launches, SpaceX is hopeful the company will achieve global coverage by September 2021.
SpaceX previously received FCC approval to launch and operate up to 12,000 Starlink satellites. Currently, Starlink beta services are in 11 countries, and the company has 500,00 pre-orders worldwide.
