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SpaceX Launches First Gen2 Starlink Satellites:

SpaceX recently asked for FCC approval to begin its Starlink Gen2 deployments before the end of 2022, and it followed through. Today [Dec 28], the company launched 54 new Starlink satellites to orbit that will form the first element of the firm's Gen2 network. However, SpaceX hasn't discussed what, if anything, is different about these satellites — they were launched aboard a Falcon 9, and the true next-gen Starlink hardware will require Starship, which has yet to reach orbit.

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off in the early hours of Wednesday on the Starlink 5-1 mission. It was the 60th Falcon 9 launch for 2022 with just one more on the schedule. The mission itself was the kind of textbook perfection we've come to expect from the Falcon 9. After sending the second stage on its way, the first-stage booster came down for a landing on the company's A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship. The satellites were released in the planned orbit, making them the first to count toward the company's 7,500 allotment from the FCC.

Although SpaceX did not offer details on the satellites, the hardware is visible in the video stream after the payload faring was jettisoned. The 54 satellites are stacked inside, very much like all the past Starlink launches, but the Gen2 satellites are supposed to be much larger and more capable. So what makes this a "Gen2" mission? The satellites were deployed in a new orbital shell authorized by federal regulators for the enhanced Starlink network. It's possible these satellites will be used to test features of the true Gen2 hardware, or perhaps they will be used to beef up connectivity until Starship is ready.

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