SpaceX Starlink launch: How to watch live stream of rocket carry Elon Musk’s internet satellites into orbit

Controversial project aims to beam high-speed internet down to Earth

SpaceX plans to launch the latest batch of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on Monday, after several failed attempts.

The launch will bring the total number of Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit close to 800 – still only a fraction of the 12,000-strong constellation eventually planned by Elon Musk’s company.

SpaceX is targeting a lift-off time of 7.51am EDT (12.51pm BST) on 5 October from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Previous launch attempts for SpaceX’s 13th Starlink mission were scrubbed due to poor weather conditions, a “conflict of range”, and an “out of family ground system sensor reading”.

If successful this time, the Falcon 9 rocket used to launch the satellites will land on the ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. 

A webcast of the launch will appear on SpaceX’s website around 15 minutes before lift-off.

A live stream will also be broadcast on SpaceX’s official YouTube channel, which will also be available through The Independent’s live blog of the launch.

The Starlink network will be fully operational in 2021, according to SpaceX, offering and internet connection to more than 99 per cent of the populated world.

“With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable,” Starlink’s website states.

The network is already operational at northerly latitudes and is already being tested by a limited number of users.

Last month, emergency responders in Washington State used Starlink’s network to set up a free public WiFi station in the town of Malden, which had been largely destroyed by wildfires.

The project has proven controversial among the astronomy community, with hundreds of astronomers warning in August that the bright trails of light created by the satellites could hinder scientific progress.

SpaceX is currently working with various astronomical societies and space observatories in order to minimise the impact of its satellites.