SpaceX Starlink V2 minis arelarger and more powerful than the Version 1.5 Starlink. SpaceX Starlink V2 mini will have more powerful phased array antennas and the use of E-band for backhaul—which will allow Starlink to provide ~4x more capacity per satellite than earlier iterations.
The Starlink V2 Mini satellite will have two massive 52.5-square-meter (565 sq ft) solar arrays and a ‘wingspan’ of around 30 meters (~100 ft) and weigh about 800 lbs.
The number of Starlink V2 Mini launching is about 35% of the number of Gen 1.5 satellites in a single Faclon 9 launch. The 4X in capacity means that there is an increase in Starlink capacity per launch.
Among other enhancements, V2 minis are equipped with new argon Hall thrusters for on orbit maneuvering pic.twitter.com/4G5nI3zsyX
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 26, 2023
V2 minis are equipped with new argon Hall thrusters for on orbit maneuvering. Developed by SpaceX engineers, they have 2.4x the thrust and 1.5x the specific impulse of SpaceX first gen thrusters. This will also be the first time ever that argon Hall thrusters are operated in space. SpaceX first gen ion thrusters were krypton ion drives.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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