UFO or satellite lights? What’s the difference?
Kayla Strange, Staff Writer
Have you ever seen a UFO? On Sept. 19, 2022, the communication department was holding their annual cookout and get together. Suddenly, dotted lights appeared in the night sky and the whole mass communications team noticed.
Many couldn’t figure out what else it could’ve been, as some airplanes have identifiable lights. Olivia Jones, a mass communication student, was in her car at the time when she noticed these lights. Jones didn’t think of them as an unidentified flying object, but thought it might be NASA.
After some inspection and research, Ansley Welchel, mass communications professor, found out the lights were satellites. The satellite launched in Florida on Sept. 18, 2022 by Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla.
SpaceX has been launching satellites into earth’s orbit for specific reasons. According to BBC News, “They’re part of the Starlink project, which aims to provide high speed internet services from space, to remote areas on Earth.” Musk’s launches are aimed to improve internet access across the world. Especially in areas that have limited access to internet or no internet.
To accomplish his goal, Musk has launched lots of satellites into space. According to BBC News, “Starlink’s satellites have been put in low-level orbit around the Earth to make connection speeds between the satellites and the ground as fast as possible.” Normal satellites are further out in earth’s orbit, for connection services across the world. Although in some areas these satellites can’t reach certain areas. So, having the satellites closer to us can be beneficial to all areas across the world.
The satellite Musk launched in Florida, was delayed. According to Florida Today, “The Space Coast’s 40th launch of the year lifted off at 8:18 p.m. EDT Sunday night, September 18, from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after enduring five consecutive days of delays due to poor weather.” Finally, Musk had his sixth launch in Florida and is well on his way to more launches in the future.
According to Space.com, “SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently said he hopes to launch up to 100 SpaceX missions in 2023.” Hopefully, by that point, the world will have better internet access and SpaceX will prove itself to be a useful aid to education and information technology around the world.
