While Space X originally announced that all 60 Starlink communications satellites launched by a Falcon 9 on 24 May were in contact with ground control and that all had deployed their solar arrays and their electric propulsion systems were operational. However, on 28 May SpaceX confirmed that three have since lost contact with the ground. These are expected to decay and burn up naturally. Of the remainder, some 45 have been raised to their 550 km orbit, with the remainder waiting to be moved. Two of those raised spacecraft are expected to use their propulsion systems to then reduce their orbital altitudes in a test to prove that they can have their much longer orbital decays from this higher orbit accelerated.
Still from animation showing deployment of Starlink spacecraft’s solar array. Courtesy: SpaceX
