SpaceX launched their first batch of second-generation Starlink satellites on February 27th. These spacecraft are called “Mini,” but they are only small in comparison to the full-size satellites that will come later. The 116 square meters of surface area make them more than four times the size of the first-generation spacecraft.
Each Starlink V2 Mini satellite weighs about 1,760 pounds (800 kilograms) at launch, nearly three times heavier than the older Starlink satellites. The are also bigger in size, with a spacecraft body more than 13 feet (4.1 meters) wide, filling more of the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing during launch, according to regulatory filings with the Federal Communications Commission.
Once deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket, the Starlink V2 Mini satellites will unfurl two solar array wings to a span of about 100 feet (30 meters). The original Starlink satellites each have a single solar array wing, with each spacecraft measuring about 36 feet (11 meters) end-to-end once the solar panel is extended.
The enhancements give the Starlink V2 Mini satellites a total surface area of 1,248 square feet, or 116 square meters, more than four times that of a Starlink V1.5 satellite.
The full-size Starlink V2 satellites, which will launch on the Starship rocket, will have more than double the surface area of a Starlink V2 Mini spacecraft, according to SpaceX filings with the FCC.
To get the much heavier Gen2 satellites into orbit, SpaceX will have to get its Starship heavy-lift rocket ready. Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built.
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