4 ms·
They added sunshades which should make the satellites nearly invisible from the ground, but they are only effective once the satellites have assumed their final
by modeless 6y ago
They added sunshades which should make the satellites nearly invisible from the ground, but they are only effective once the satellites have assumed their final orientation and orbit. They start in a much lower orbit and will likely be very visible in the first few days after launch. Then they enter a phase of orbit raising during which they deliberately rotate to be less visible, though they can still sometimes be seen until they reach their destination several weeks later.