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| Science |
| FCC authorizes Elon Musk's SpaceX to provide broadband satellite services |
| 2018-03-30 |
This is the StarLink system of up to 12,000 satellites to provide multi-gigabit up/down data service everywhere on the planet. This marks the first time the FCC has allowed a U.S.-licensed satellite constellation to provide broadband services through low-Earth orbit satellites The communication satellite network SpaceX envisions was publicly announced in January 2015, with the projected capability of supporting the bandwidth to carry up to 50 percent of all backhaul communications traffic and up to 10 percent of local Internet traffic in high-density cities. CEO Elon Musk believes that there is significant unmet demand for low-cost global broadband capabilities. SpaceX has articulated the explicit goal to provide broadband internet connectivity to underserved areas of the planet, as well as provide competitively-priced service to urban areas. Moreover, SpaceX has indicated that the positive cash flow from selling satellite internet services would be necessary to fund SpaceX Mars plans. In early 2015, two space entrepreneurs announced Internet satellite ventures in the same week. In addition to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announcing the project that would later be named Starlink, serial-entrepreneur Richard Branson announced an investment in OneWeb, a similar constellation with approximately 700 satellites that had already procured communication frequency licenses for their broadcast spectrum. Extending to use beyond Earth In the long-term, SpaceX intends to develop and deploy a version of the satellite communication system that would be used on Mars. In the mid-term, SpaceX is interested in the satcomm system on Earth generating revenue that would be helpful in providing capital for the company's Mars transport project. The system will not compete with Iridium satellite constellation, which is designed to link directly to handsets. Instead, it will be linked to flat user terminals the size of a pizza box, which will have phased array antennas and track the satellites. The terminals can be mounted anywhere, as long as they can see the sky. While internet via a geostationary satellite has a latency of no less than 240 ms, the lower latency limit for Starlink orbiting at 1100 km is only 3% of that, about 7 ms. The system will use a peer-to-peer protocol simpler than IPv6. SpaceX began flight testing their satellite technologies in 2018,[13] with the launch of two test satellites. The two identical satellites were called MicroSat-1a and MicroSat-1b during development but were renamed Tintin A and Tintin B upon orbital deployment in February 2018. The satellites orbit in a circular low Earth orbit at 625 kilometers (388 mi) altitude in a high-inclination orbit for a planned six to twelve-month duration. The satellites will communicate with three testing ground stations in Washington and California for short-term experiments of less than ten minutes duration, roughly daily. Both microsats were originally slated to be launched into 625 km circular orbits at approximately 86.4 degrees inclination, and to include panchromatic video imager cameras to film image of Earth and the satellite. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #5 The UN and EU will want to tax it in 3..2..1.. |
| Posted by: magpie 2018-03-30 15:32 |
| #4 Does all of this work even with cloud cover? Not in nuclear winter. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-03-30 13:01 |
| #3 Brownian motion in action? |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2018-03-30 07:44 |
| #2 Self-driving electric-plasma satellites, I presume. Now, Mr. Musk can apply for more federal grants. Genius. And to think I work 40+ hrs/wk..... |
| Posted by: Anomalous Sources 2018-03-30 00:29 |
| #1 Does all of this work even with cloud cover? |
| Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 2018-03-30 00:17 |