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posted by on Friday May 05 2017, @05:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the wireless-everything dept.

SpaceX today said its planned constellation of 4,425 broadband satellites will launch from the Falcon 9 rocket beginning in 2019 and continue launching in phases until reaching full capacity in 2024.

SpaceX gave the Senate Commerce Committee an update on its satellite plans during a broadband infrastructure hearing this morning via testimony by VP of satellite government affairs Patricia Cooper. Satellite Internet access traditionally suffers from high latency, relatively slow speeds, and strict data caps. But as we reported in November, SpaceX says it intends to solve these problems with custom-designed satellites launched into low-Earth orbits.

SpaceX mentioned 2019 as a possible launch date in an application filed with the Federal Communications Commission in November and offered a more specific launch timeline today.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday May 05 2017, @07:01PM (6 children)

    by kaszz (4211) on Friday May 05 2017, @07:01PM (#505086) Journal

    Perhaps then we just have to wait for the Kessler syndrome [wikipedia.org] to set in with a vengeance.

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  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday May 06 2017, @12:58AM (1 child)

    by frojack (1554) on Saturday May 06 2017, @12:58AM (#505243) Journal

    Even your own link dismisses the issue in LEO.

    The most commonly used orbits for both manned and unmanned space vehicles are low earth orbits, which cover an altitude range low enough for residual air drag to be sufficient to help keep the zone clear. Collisions that occur in this altitude range are also less of an issue because the directions into which the fragments fly and/or their lower specific energy often result in orbits intersecting with earth or having perigee below this altitude.

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    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday May 06 2017, @01:19AM

      by kaszz (4211) on Saturday May 06 2017, @01:19AM (#505256) Journal

      All good then ;-)

      Just have to wait for a Musk offer no one can resist .. :p

  • (Score: 2) by driverless on Saturday May 06 2017, @04:51AM (2 children)

    by driverless (4770) on Saturday May 06 2017, @04:51AM (#505329)

    The Kessler Syndrome has a relatively simple solution, you just need to send a clearing ship up there to sweep up the debris. You could call it the Kessler Run, and award a prize for the ship that can cover the area in the shortest distance, say 12 parsecs.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday May 06 2017, @08:14AM (1 child)

      by kaszz (4211) on Saturday May 06 2017, @08:14AM (#505361) Journal

      How will you clear it up without resupplies of energy or materials from Earth? which makes it unfeasible.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 06 2017, @05:18AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 06 2017, @05:18AM (#505338)

    Don't worry. The half section [wikipedia.org] will take care of it.