SpaceX is all set for its 30th Starlink launch of 2022

According to Teslarati, no earlier than (NET) 10:50 am EDT (14:50 UTC) on Thursday, a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) LC-40 launch pad with 54 internet satellites in tow. Weighing in at 16.75 tonnes (36,900 lb), the batch of Starlink V1.5 satellites is one of just a few left for SpaceX to complete the second of five 'shells' that make up its first constellation.

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX is all set to launch its 30th Starlink mission of 2022 on Thursday.

According to Teslarati, no earlier than (NET) 10:50 am EDT (14:50 UTC) on Thursday, a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) LC-40 launch pad with 54 internet satellites in tow.

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Weighing in at 16.75 tonnes (36,900 lb), the batch of Starlink V1.5 satellites is one of just a few left for SpaceX to complete the second of five 'shells' that make up its first constellation.

As per the report, even before Starlink 4-36 launch, more than two-thirds of the 4,408 satellites required to complete the constellation were already in orbit and (by all appearances) working as expected.

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Of the 3,131 working satellites in orbit, approximately 2,700 are at their operational altitudes and theoretically capable of serving customers on the Earth.

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Another 390 satellites are in the process of climbing to their operational orbits. Once they're done, SpaceX's first Starlink constellation will be more than two-thirds complete.The constellation is made up of five orbital 'shells' - distinct groups of satellites that share a similar orbital inclination (the angle between the satellite's orbit and Earth's equator) and altitude, the report said.

Two of those shells, known as Group 1 and Group 4, contain 3,168 satellites or more than two-thirds of the constellation, it added.

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They are nearly identical and focus on Earth's mid-latitudes, where almost every person (and customer) on Earth resides.

Also read | SpaceX could spin off Starlink as public company by 2025: Report

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Both are almost complete: astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell estimates that 1,456 of 1,584 possible Group 1 satellites are operational. Group 4 is one launch behind, with about 1,405 working satellites in orbit.

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