SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet constellation is gearing up to set another important milestone to become one of the few internet services that will provide laser based coverage to crew flying on a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Throughout the past couple of years, SpaceX has become a one stop shop for all things related to space. The firm's Falcon 9 rockets can launch a diverse set of payloads to different orbits and crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and other destinations. At the same time, its Crew Dragon spacecraft is one of the few that offers flight services to both private and government astronauts, and its internet service Starlink uses low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to beam internet connectivity all over the world.
Now, Starlink will provide internet connectivity to astronauts who are part of the Polaris Dawn mission, whose liftoff should occur sometime early next year.
SpaceX's Starlink Will Provide Internet Coverage To Crew Of The Polaris Dawn Mission
SpaceX's rapid progress with the Dragon spacecraft has opened up new avenues in spaceflight where private citizens can take a trip to space. Previously, space trips were primarily limited to astronauts trained and funded by space agencies due to several factors. The biggest factor was the lack of a private spacecraft as ships such as the Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz are operated by space agencies.
However, the Crew Dragon, since it's developed and operated by SpaceX, allows private astronauts to make space trips. The Crew Dragon's Inspiration4 mission that took off in September 2021 was the first time that a crew of all private astronauts went to space, and SpaceX's flagship crewed spacecraft set another milestone in April 2022 when it became the first fully commercially operated mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
After the Inspiration4 mission, the brainchild behind the flight that also donated proceeds from a raffle draw to the charity hospital St. Jude, billionaire Jared Issacman, purchased seats for the Crew Dragon for missions part of the Polaris Program. The Polaris Program is also seeking to raise funds for St. Jude, and the program consists of three flights. Out of these, the first two will be made on the Crew Dragon, while the third will be on Starship.
While neither Polaris or SpaceX have announced a specific launch date for the Polaris Dawn mission, the first of the three flights, the flight is expected to take place in "early 2024". The mission will mark several firsts for private spaceflight, out of which perhaps the most important will be a spacewalk. Government astronauts regularly conduct spacewalks on the ISS as part of their duty to repair and maintain the station, and if the Polaris Dawn astronauts also conduct one, then it will be the first time a private crew does so.
Additionally, another first for the Polaris Dawn mission will be testing Starlink. SpaceX revealed recently that the Starlink satellite internet constellation is using more than 8,000 lasers for inter-satellite communications, with each laser link capable of transferring 100 Gbps. It also announced that a recent Starlink launch was the first to see the satellites equipped with next generation lasers.
After SpaceX's announcement, the communications team for Polaris outlined that the Polaris Dawn crew will be the first to test Starlink during human spaceflight. Details on its website show that the crew will be the first to test "Starlink laser-based communications in space," in another achievement for SpaceX's satellite internet constellation.
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