More sightings expected with SpaceX to launch 60 new Starlink satellites as part of Elon Musk's plan for space-based internet

Satellites will appear as a 'string of bright pearls' across the night's sky, astronomers say

SpaceX plans to launch another batch of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on Wednesday from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Lift off is scheduled for 3.37pm EDT (8.37pm BST) aboard a veteran Falcom 9 rocket that has flown and landed three times before.

The Starlink satellites will join 360 satellites already in orbit and will eventually form part of 12,000-strong constellation designed to beam high-speed internet down to Earth.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the Starlink network will provide broadband connectivity to under served areas around the globe and has already publicly tested it via a tweet posted in October 2019.

Satellites from the most recent launch in March were visible in the night's sky this week, as they were positioned in such a way that the Sun reflected off them.

Their unusual formation, described by astronomers as a "string of bright pearls"​, prompted a surge in UFO reports throughout the world.

Amateur astronomers have also used apps like Heavens Above to track the satellite train in order to know when it is passing overhead.

Some astronomers have criticised the potential disruption caused by space-based internet projects, which are also being developed by Amazon and other companies.

Astrophycist Dave Clements described the planned constellations as a "tragedy" last year, claiming that they will interfere with radio frequencies and distort images from optical telescopes.

SpaceX told The Independent that it is working with the European radio astronomy community and the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory to "mitigate the impacts on the astronomy community".

Speaking at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington last month, Elon Musk said concerns about the Starlink satellites were being over exaggerated.

"I am confident that we will not cause any impact whatsoever in astronomical discoveries, zero. That's my prediction. We will take corrective action if it's above zero," he said.

"I've not met someone who can tell me where all of them are, so it can't be that big of a deal."

The Starlink satellite train in the sky above Kosovo on 19 April, 2020 (Astrit Spanca)

A backup launch window for the latest batch is available on Thursday afternoon should weather conditions not be favourable on Wednesday.

Following the launch, which will be broadcast in a live stream on SpaceX's official YouTube page, the Falcon 9 rocket will land on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.