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SpaceX to Launch Broadband Satellites With Latency as Low as 25ms in 2019

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

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

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.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 06 2017, @01:31AM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Saturday May 06 2017, @01:31AM (#505260) Journal

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_satellite_constellation [wikipedia.org]

    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.[2][3] CEO Elon Musk believes that there is significant unmet demand for low-cost global broadband capabilities.[4]

    [...] After the failure of previous satellite-to-consumer space ventures, satellite industry consultant Roger Rusch said "It's highly unlikely that you can make a successful business out of this."[5] Musk has publicly acknowledged this business reality, and indicated in mid-2015 that while endeavoring to develop this technically-complicated space-based communication system he wants to avoid overextending the company and stated that they are being measured in the pace of development.[15]

    [...] Longer-term, SpaceX intends to develop and deploy a version of the satellite communication system that would be used at 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.[4]

    [...] The satellites would be mass-produced, at much lower cost per unit of capability than existing satellites. Musk said "We’re going to try and do for satellites what we’ve done for rockets."[18] "In order to revolutionize space, we have to address both satellites and rockets."[3] "Smaller satellites are crucial to lowering the cost of space-based Internet and communications."

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