SpaceX, Starlink and united launch alliance
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SpaceX plans to launch a Starlink mission from California on Sept. 25, with a streaming option available for viewers.
The Sept. 25 liftoffs were the 82nd and 83rd orbital rocket launches of 2035 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Sunspot AR3186 erupted with an X1-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the fireworks in multiple wavelengths. Credit: NASA/SDO/HelioViewer| edited by Space.com's Steve Spaleta Music: Far Far Far by Bonnie Grace / courtesy of Epidemic Sound
Space.com on MSN
SpaceX launches 3 probes to study space weather and map the boundaries of our solar system (video)
IMAP (short for "Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe") is the primary payload on today's flight. The roughly $600 million spacecraft carries 10 different science instruments, which it will use to monitor solar activity as well as study interstellar dust and the solar wind, the stream of charged particles flowing continuously from our sun.
A Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station around 4:38 a.m. It will carry and deploy 28 new satellites which will join Starlink’s growing constellation to help expand the company’s global high-speed internet network.
The Starlink missions, by far the most common at Vandenberg, make use of the company's famous Falcon 9 rocket. And because the next mission is scheduled around sunset, the skies may just be dark enough for spectators to spot the spacecraft even if they're further away from the launch site.
The three satellites look to measure mysteries of space weather while also acting as a warning system for its dangerous effects.
SpaceX is moving forward with plans for another Starship launch on the heels of the last test Aug. 26 from its Starbase headquarters in Texas.
The Texas Tribune on MSN
Starbase will take partial control of beach near Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch site
The deal between the new South Texas city and Cameron County mirrors a similar agreement with South Padre Island and requires a plan to combat beach erosion.