SpaceX launches Starlink satellite with anti-reflective coating

SpaceX has launched another 60 Starlink internet satellites. One of the satellites has a dark coating that should partly prevent reflections. The company is trying to respond to criticism that the satellites are disrupting astronomical observations from Earth.

SpaceX has confirmed that the satellites have been successfully launched into space. They went up on a Falcon 9 rocket, deploying the first stage for a fourth time; it later successfully landed on a drone ship. That’s the 48th time that a booster has landed successfully. Catching the rocket’s fairing, the upper nose cone section, was unsuccessful. It is the third time a run of sixty Starlink satellites have gone up in a single launch.

One of the sixty launched Starlink satellites has a special dark coating. Elon Musk’s company is trying with this to test whether it is possible to limit the amount of light reflected by the satellite. This should decrease the satellite’s brightness in the night sky as seen from Earth.

In particular, after the second launch in November, there were many complaints from astronomers, with observations from Earth being disrupted by “light trails” produced by the Starlink satellites. Even after the first launch in May, wisps were visible, caused by the ‘satellite trains’ in space.

The problem is particularly acute immediately after launch, when the satellites are still close together and in the process of entering a higher orbit around the Earth. Their solar panels are configured in a special way during that phase, which makes them highly visible from Earth. Once they have arrived at the correct height and position, they are much less visible, according to SpaceX. Ultimately, the company wants to launch many thousands of satellites to create a network for broadband internet.