Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 12/7/20
SpaceX launched two sets of 60 Starlink satellites this year as a part of their global broadband internet system. On Saturday, Dec. 5 around 8 p.m., a string of Starlink lights could be seen from the Missoula area. This isn’t the first time. In December of 2019, the same formation of lights were reported by residents of Browning, Rocky Boy and Lodgepole. The satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 300 miles and appear bright from the reflection of sunlight off of their solar array.
“SpaceX is developing a low latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of consumers across the globe,” explains the SpaceX website. “Enabled by a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites, Starlink will provide fast, reliable internet to populations with little or no connectivity, including those in rural communities and places where existing services are too expensive or unreliable.”
