New ship, new year: SpaceX will deploy Starlink model satellites on its next Starship launch

SpaceX significantly upping the ante for the Starship test flight program, whose next rocket launch is expected to demonstrate payload placement for the first time.

The payload in question will be 10 Starlink “simulators,” similar in size and weight to the next-generation satellites SpaceX plans to use Starship to put into space. These model spacecraft will follow the same trajectory as the upper stage, called the Starship, and jump into the Indian Ocean.

The operational version of these satellites, called V3, will likely be the first real payloads flown by Starship. Indeed, bringing Starship online is central to SpaceX’s plans to deploy the Starlink satellite constellation faster and lower the cost of launching a satellite into orbit. SpaceX currently sends Starlink into space using its powered Falcon 9 rocket, but the next-generation V3 satellites are expected to be heavier than the current V2 Mini spacecraft. Thanks to Starship’s incredible payload capacity, SpaceX says it plans to deploy 60 V3 satellites for each Starship launch, which will add 60 terabits per second of capacity to the Starlink network.

Each satellite, that’s 10 times the downlink and 24 times the uplink compared to the V2 Mini satellites.

In blog post Ahead of the seventh test launch, which is expected to take place later this month, the company also said it introduced a number of improvements to the rocket. These include improvements to the propulsion system, avionics and heat shield, which SpaceX says will improve reliability and performance. During this test, SpaceX will also try to “capture” the Super Heavy booster, a feat the company has achieved. for the first time during the fifth test in October.