SpaceX's Starship to Deploy Mock Satellites in Next Test

SpaceX logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
SpaceX logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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SpaceX's Starship to Deploy Mock Satellites in Next Test

SpaceX logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
SpaceX logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Elon Musk's SpaceX said upcoming Starship test flight would include the rocket's first attempt to deploy payloads in space by releasing 10 model Starlink satellites, a key demonstration for Starship's potential in the satellite launch market.

"While in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission," SpaceX said in a blog post on its website, Reuters reported.

The Starship flight from SpaceX's sprawling Boca Chica, Texas facilities, tentatively planned for later this month, will mark the seventh demonstration in a test-to-failure style of rocket development where the company tests new upgrades with each flight.

In October, Starship's "Super Heavy" first stage booster returned to its launch pad's giant mechanical arms for the first time, a milestone for its fully reusable design.

The rocket's sixth test flight in November, attended by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, achieved similar mission objectives - besides the landing of Super Heavy, which was forced to target a water landing on the Gulf of Mexico because of a launchpad problem.

Starship is the centerpiece of SpaceX's future satellite launch business - an area it currently dominates with its partially reusable Falcon 9 - as well as Musk's dreams to colonize Mars.

The rocket's power, stronger than the Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon in the last century, is key for launching huge batches of satellites into low-Earth orbit and is expected to rapidly expand the company's Starlink satellite internet network.

SpaceX is under contract with NASA to land U.S. astronauts on the moon later this decade using Starship.

Musk, SpaceX's founder and CEO, has become a close ally of Trump who has made getting to Mars a more prominent goal for the incoming administration.



Humpback Whale Briefly Swallows Kayaker in Chilean Patagonia

A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Humpback Whale Briefly Swallows Kayaker in Chilean Patagonia

A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
A humpback whale jumps in the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, Aug. 12, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)

A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed. The incident, caught on camera, quickly went viral as one of the most remarkable footage in Chile in recent years.

Last Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go.

Dell, just meters away, captured the moment on video while encouraging his son to stay calm.

“Stay calm, stay calm,” he can be heard saying after his son was released from the whale’s mouth.

“I thought I was dead,” Adrián told The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”

He described the “terror” of those few seconds and explained that his real fear set in only after resurfacing, fearing that the huge animal would hurt his father or that he would perish in the frigid waters.

Despite the terrifying experience, Dell remained focused, filming and reassuring his son while grappling with his own worry.

“When I came up and started floating, I was scared that something might happen to my father too, that we wouldn’t reach the shore in time, or that I would get hypothermia,” Adrián said.

After a few seconds in the water, Adrián managed to reach his father’s kayak and was quickly assisted. Despite the scare, both returned to shore uninjured.

Located about 1,600 miles (3,000 kilometers) south of Santiago, Chile’s capital, the Strait of Magellan is a major tourist attraction in the Chilean Patagonia, known for adventure activities.

Its frigid waters pose a challenge for sailors, swimmers and explorers who attempt to cross it in different ways.

Although it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures in the region remain cool, with minimums dropping to 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and highs rarely exceeding 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius.)

While whale attacks on humans are extremely rare in Chilean waters, whale deaths from collisions with cargo ships have increased in recent years, and strandings have become a recurring issue in the last decade.