The Varuna-TDM mission will provide prospective users of the broadband satellite constellation “an opportunity to evaluate the performance of V-band communications links and ascertain their attributes and acceptability for specific applications,” Boeing said. The mission is designed to demonstrate technologies and perform in-orbit performance testing for a V-band communications system, a proposed 147-satellite constellation to provide broadband connectivity to commercial and U.S. The Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle on the Starlink 4-20 mission carries Boeing’s Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission, or Varuna-TDM. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography This 200-second exposure shows the Falcon 9 rocket streaking into space from Cape Canaveral on Sunday night. Built by Spaceflight, a Seattle-based spacecraft developer and rideshare launch broker, the Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle is designed to ferry small satellites and hosted experiments to different altitudes and inclinations after an initial ride into orbit from a large rocket. The secondary passenger was the chemically-propelled Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle riding on the Starlink payload stack inside the Falcon 9’s payload fairing. The rocket lofted 51 flat-packed Starlink spacecraft, less than the number carried on a typical Starlink launch from Florida, to accommodate a rideshare payload. The main payload for Sunday night’s mission, designated Starlink 4-20, was the next batch of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites. There was an 80% chance of favorable weather for the launch opportunity Sunday night, according to the U.S. EDT Sunday (0209:40 GMT Monday), marking SpaceX’s 40th launch of the year. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket occurred at 10:09:40 p.m. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday night with 51 more Starlink internet satellites and a rideshare payload that will use a Spaceflight-built orbital transfer vehicle to climb into a higher orbit to test broadband communications technology for Boeing.
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