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Where is SpaceX Starlink? How to see in London, Seattle, Houston

Starlink, SpaceX's internet satellite constellation, is making its way across the skies. Here's how to spot it this week.

Starlink
Microsoft

Starlink, SpaceX's internet connectivity constellation, is making its way across the skies. This week, fans in London, Seattle, and Houston are in a good place to see SpaceX's satellites soaring as they orbit our planet.

The constellation is designed to offer high speed, low latency internet to users on Earth who just need a ground terminal and a clear view of the sky. Starlink hopes to edge out other satellite services by placing its craft just 550 kilometers above sea level and by launching thousands of satellites to maximize coverage. SpaceX has already started rolling out a beta version of the service for testers in the northern United States and Canada.

Starlink has caught the attention of some big names, including Microsoft. On Tuesday, the computing giant announced a new Azure Space cloud computing initiative. It's partnering with SpaceX to offer Starlink connections for its Azure Modular Datacenter, a datacenter that lives in a container for deployment in "challenging environments," like places where power and infrastructure is unreliable. As a first test for Starlink, it's a big one.

Azure Space.

Microsoft

Last week, SpaceX launched its 14th batch of satellites — less than two weeks after its 13th batch went up. After that launch, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced Starlink would enter a "fairly wide" public beta once that batch reached its target position. Previous batches have taken around four months to reach their position, so the beta may launch in February 2021.

The website FindStarlink keeps fans informed of how to see Starlink's satellites in the night sky. The site is designed to predict where the satellites will be visible, so it's not always perfect. But it does forecast a number of bright sightings over big cities in the next week. Here's where to look:

SpaceX Starlink: When and how to see from London

All times are in British Summertime.

  • Tuesday, October 20, 8:01 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for six minutes. Look from west to southwest.
  • Wednesday, October 21, 6:50 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for five minutes. Look from west to east.
  • Wednesday, October 21, 7:01 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for six minutes. Look from west to east.
  • Thursday, October 22, 5:43 a.m.: The satellites should be visible for two minutes. Look from north to east.
  • Thursday, October 22, 7:37 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for five minutes. Look from west to south.
  • Friday, October 23, 6:08 a.m.: The satellites should be visible for three minutes. Look from west to east.
  • Friday, October 23, 6:37 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for six minutes. Look from west to southeast.
  • Saturday, October 24, 6:35 a.m.: The satellites should be visible for four minutes. Look from west to southeast.

SpaceX Starlink: When and how to see from Seattle

All times are in Pacific time.

  • Tuesday, October 20, 7:41 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for five minutes. Look from northwest to northeast.
  • Wednesday, October 21, 6:28 a.m.: The satellites should be visible for four minutes. Look from northwest to east.
  • Thursday, October 22, 7:17 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for six minutes. Look from northwest to east.
  • Friday, October 23, 7:53 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for five minutes. Look from west to south.
  • Saturday, October 24, 6:14 a.m.: The satellites should be visible for four minutes. Look from northwest to east.

SpaceX Starlink: When and how to see from Houston

All times are in Central time.

  • Wednesday, October 21, 7:38 p.m.: The satellites should be visible for six minutes. Look from southwest to northeast.
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