SpaceX to launch broadband satellites in 2019

[wyattzx]

Quote

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.

Source: arstechnica

 

SpaceX is claiming these satellites to have latency as low as 25-35ms. If such a thing is possible, this would be incredible, and potentially a huge blow to major ISPs. 

 

What do you guys think? Is this the next generation of satellite internet, or just another (soon to be failed) attempt by a company at developing a new internet infrastructure? (a-la Google Fiber) Either way, color me excited to see what happens with this. For context, 2019 is only two years away, and SpaceX is planning to launch 4,425 satellites over the span of five years, or roughly 900 satellites per year.

[AlwaysFSX]

Meanwhile I get 60 ping to a server 25 miles away...

[Energycore]

Wonder when we'll start seeing financed trips to take trash dead satellites out of space because the sky is so full of garbage it starts affecting the earth. I give humanity 20 years before so.

[sazrocks]

29 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Wonder when we'll start seeing financed trips to take trash dead satellites out of space because the sky is so full of garbage it starts affecting the earth. I give humanity 20 years before so.

Nah, none of the stuff we've put up will ever make it down to the surface, at least in any sizable chunk, as it will just burn up once it properly hits the atmosphere. The real scary thing would be a chain reaction; two satellites collide, creating debris, which then takes out more satellites, which makes more debris, etc until we have major problems; essentially what happened in Gravity. Though, the differing altitudes that we put things in orbit in my help to reduce the satellites impacted. Still, we do need to find a way of annihilating/removing the dead satellites from orbit.

 

As for proper satellite internet, this seems feasible, the only problem would be the amount of time it will take to pay for itself, then again Spacex is making the Falcon 9 cheaper to use with the reusing, so that might help. 

[Primefoxer]

More junk in space is just what we needed..

[VanayadGaming]

13 minutes ago, Primefoxer said:

More junk in space is just what we needed..

"junk" :)) While some people pay over 50 $/euro for 100mbps internet that is download capped ? Yeah... more competition - and real one like this - is going to be great. Luckily I'm not in that situation, paying around 10$ for 1gbps up/down with no caps, but that is just in a couple of places... we're talking here the whole world suddenly having internet access. As someone usually says... it's gonna be UUUGE!

[ATFink]

That moment when you realize SpaceX satellites will eventually have full control of the software Tesla will use to power its autonomous vehicles (said to be at level 5 by the end of next year) with it's 4,425 satellite array... and then Tesla buys SpaceX in a similar fashion that Tesla bought Solar City to make this enormous contract more feasible.

 

wut.

 

EDIT:

If this actually happens I'd be genuinely worried of anti-trust coming in and breaking up Tesla.

[VanayadGaming]

22 minutes ago, ATFink said:

That moment when you realize SpaceX satellites will eventually have full control of the software Tesla will use to power its autonomous vehicles (said to be at level 5 by the end of next year) with it's 4,425 satellite array... and then Tesla buys SpaceX in a similar fashion that Tesla bought Solar City to make this enormous contract more feasible.

 

wut.

 

EDIT:

If this actually happens I'd be genuinely worried of anti-trust coming in and breaking up Tesla.

I doubt tesla would buy spacex. Considering Elon even said as much when he told everyone he doesn't plan on making SpaceX public until they colonized mars because of the short term goals investors want, but elon doesn't care about.

[Sakkura]

Seems reasonable. Given the satellites orbit at a little over 1000km and there are so many of them, you can figure there'll be one within 1500km, which adds a 10ms delay. If they keep the rest of the system decently connected, 25-35ms should be doable.

 

So it could actually be usable for latency-sensitive things like gaming (unlike with satellites in geosynchronous or geostationary orbit).

[ATFink]

2 hours ago, VanayadGaming said:

I doubt tesla would buy spacex. Considering Elon even said as much when he told everyone he doesn't plan on making SpaceX public until they colonized mars because of the short term goals investors want, but elon doesn't care about.

True, true. I see commercial potential for a SpaceX/Telsa merger on the basis that the network would be the low latency high speed communication that would be required for autonomous driving communications and that is exactly what Tesla needs for their autonomous capability plans. This satellite network would more likely become a wing under SpaceX as a child company like Google is to Alphabet right now. SpaceX is going to remain true to its mission, but I don't think it will maintain control of that satellite network. Tesla will probably buy that child company if that's even possible (I'm no expert in mergers/acquisitions). Their will be too much work required by satellites. It will distract SpaceX from its purpose, so I think SpaceX will sell/lease the equipment to others. I think Tesla will buy the majority share of the network though. Even the 2019 starting time frame lines up exactly with when Tesla's level 5 autonomy should just become technologically feasible. By 2024 I'm sure Tesla plans on having at least the largest market share of land based transportation vehicles... and they will all be autonomous. Guess who will need those satellites for their immense autonomous program.

 

Maybe that happens and Tesla buys the child company + charges fees for other entities to use their network? I don't know, lots of potential here.

[Sakkura]

3 hours ago, Energycore said:

Wonder when we'll start seeing financed trips to take trash dead satellites out of space because the sky is so full of garbage it starts affecting the earth. I give humanity 20 years before so.

 

2 hours ago, Primefoxer said:

More junk in space is just what we needed..

 

SpaceX appears to be promising to lower the satellites to an orbit that will decay quickly, at the end of each satellite's service life.

 

On the other hand, they're asking for less government regulation. So maybe that would allow them to just leave lots of space junk flying around. But the suggestions made in yesterday's statement to the senate seem reasonable enough.

[ATFink]

2 hours ago, Sakkura said:

On the other hand, they're asking for less government regulation. So maybe that would allow them to just leave lots of space junk flying around. But the suggestions made in yesterday's statement to the senate seem reasonable enough.

I agree that space junk is an issue, but honestly, just send a bunch of disposable low class (like K or L class or something like that, I don't know, I haven't done any math on this at all) solid rocket motors up in space each in a special container that can mount onto a satellite and have a tiny space tug move around and slap them onto the front side of the satellite opposing the direction of satellite's current tangential velocity with respect to Earth. It only takes a couple of m/s of deltaV to bring down a satellite rather quickly, so this doesn't sound like an impossible venture at all. You don't even need much deltaV from the tug if it moves along a given altitude to target the most dense altitudes that satellites are packed in.

 

P.S.

Note to self: Don't type when you're tired... you will focus on the wrong parts of people's comments without considering the entirety of what they said. <---This is a note to me moreso than to you @Sakkura. You don't seem tired.

[Thunderpup]

I am silently rooting for this, and think it has the potential to make a big splash, but also could end up being a big Flop.

 

While this endeavor would cost a lot i imagine they are intending on making up the cost by the sheer size of their service area (Earth).  Currently if an ISP wants to break into a new market they have to either build out the infrastructure or piggy back for a fee off of someone else's.  To do this on a large scale, lets say all of the U.S., would cost billions.

 

Musk is likely looking at a global market which means their ROI (return on investment) will likely be pretty decent even if adoption is lackluster in individual regional markets; which was the case for Google fiber.  The total sum of customers would offset that.

 

Sadly here in the states there are a lot of people whose only internet options are Dial up or Satellite which is low bandwidth, high latency and data capped like a MoFo.  This would be a nice alternative for them. 

[Lethal Seraph]

On 5/4/2017 at 1:43 AM, Energycore said:

Wonder when we'll start seeing financed trips to take trash dead satellites out of space because the sky is so full of garbage it starts affecting the earth.

Don't worry, SpaceX has or will develop a program for that too. 

[DoctorWho1975]

On 5/4/2017 at 2:12 AM, sazrocks said:

Nah, none of the stuff we've put up will ever make it down to the surface, at least in any sizable chunk, as it will just burn up once it properly hits the atmosphere.

 

Shenanigans! 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris#To_Earth

 

Also there is plenty of space debris that is fraking up satellites in orbit, there is more to this universe than just the surface of earth.

[Teddy07]

On 4.5.2017 at 9:10 AM, Primefoxer said:

More junk in space is just what we needed..

NASA already has plans to clean the atmosphere from this stuff

[sazrocks]

6 hours ago, DoctorWho1975 said:

 

Shenanigans! 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris#To_Earth

 

I stand corrected.

 

6 hours ago, DoctorWho1975 said:

Also there is plenty of space debris that is fraking up satellites in orbit, there is more to this universe than just the surface of earth.

I addressed that in my post.

[Drak3]

Honestly, don't see it happening.

I see another HughesNet Gen 4 coming around the corner, once it's fully implemented. and I certainly don't see it being implemented nearly as fast as SpaceX dreams it will.

[Trik'Stari]

So.

 

EARTH PRESIDENT MUSK 2024?

 

Anyone?

 

[Chasem121]

This would do absolutely wonders for the ISP environment in the USA. Why pay for ATT DSL or for Comcast if you can get good and cheap internet from SpaceX satellites? (Assuming of course, that these would be both good and cheap)

AT&T and the other internet providers would suddenly be competing again, whether they liked it or not.