SpaceX says the Starship flying today’s mission has 20 Starlink satellites on board, the first of the latest version of the internet-beaming satellites that will reach space.
But they won’t stay in orbit: The satellites — like Starship itself — will be on a suborbital trajectory, which means they’re expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere upon reentry.
Each of the satellites will be folded flat and ejected from a narrow slit in Starship’s side, which acts as a sort of high-tech Pez dispenser.
SpaceX has attempted to test this deployment with dummy satellites on each of the last six test flights. But today’s mission will have actual Starlink V3 satellites that will deploy solar panels and antennas. They’ll briefly attempt to connect to the company’s existing Starlink network using lasers.
And before their demise, about 20 minutes after deployment, the Starlink satellites will aim to collect some data about Starship: “Six of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators.”