[ad_1]
April 26, 2020 by Steve Hanley
SpaceX has launched 422 of its Low Earth Orbit Starlink satellites. 2 prototypes were first shipped in 2018, followed by 7 launches with 60 satellites each since then. Starlink’s most recent mission took place on April 22. More releases are scheduled for May and June. That will be enough to start private beta testing of the Starlink network in the next three months, says Musk.
Private beta starts in ~ 3 months, public beta in ~ 6 months, starting at high latitudes
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2020
Starlink intends to provide low-cost Internet coverage to parts of the world where connecting online is an unpredictable or simply impossible proposition at this time. So far, SpaceX has received permission to launch 12,000 satellites, and plans to add 30,000 more on top of that. To put the enormity of the project into perspective, so far, humans have launched a total of 9,400 satellites since Sputnik began operating in 1957.
Starlink satellites are orbiting about 300 miles above Earth, which means that each can only “see” a relatively small portion of Earth. It also means that the satellites do not stay in one position on Earth. Apparently, Starlink units will be digitally linked in groups of 5, giving continuous service until the next group moves into position.
Launch of Starlink. Image credit: SpaceX via Flickr
According to TechCrunchUsing low earth orbit satellites makes the system faster than it would be if geosynchronous satellites were used 22,500 miles above Earth. In satellite communications, a factor known as latency becomes important. That is the amount of time it takes for a signal to leave Earth, bounce off a satellite, and return to Earth. LOE satellites have a latency of approximately 30 milliseconds. The signals take almost half a second to make the round trip to a geosynchronous satellite and vice versa.
The latitudes start at zero at the equator and become higher the closer they are to the poles. The high latitudes Musk mentions include Canada, which has not yet granted permission to activate the Starlink system in its territory. Musk says parts of Germany could also be considered at the higher latitudes where testing will begin.
So far, there has only been one major criticism of the Starlink system. Astronomers say the satellites are so bright in the sky due to reflected sunlight that they interfere with terrestrial research in the skies. The reducible Mr. Musk has a solution. Starting with Launch 9, the satellites will be equipped with umbrellas designed to reduce glare.
Thank you! We are taking some key steps to reduce the brightness of the satellite by the way. It should be much less noticeable during increasing orbit by changing the angle of the solar panel and all sats get umbrellas starting at launch 9.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2020
According to Space.com, Musk tweeted the next day: “It is made of a special dark foam that is extremely transparent to radio, so as not to affect phased array antennas.” It looks a lot like the hood of the car. Let Musk and his minions design satellite visors!
Musk and SpaceX are not the only ones competing to create vast space-based Internet systems. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is working on a proposal that will use multiple helium-filled balloons to keep transceivers in the air above Earth. That system has the unfortunate name of Loon. Enough talk.
Why so much interest in new internet technology? Part of this is a sincere desire to make the knowledge that people have accumulated over the eons available to all people so that humans can work together to solve common problems. Another less altruistic reason could be that knowledge is power and whoever controls the dissemination of information gains power over those who receive it. You also make a lot of money connecting 8,000,000,000 people to servers. The desire to improve the human condition is one thing, but the impetus to earn money is really what makes the world go round.
Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.
It will make you happy and help you live in peace for the rest of your life.
About the Author
Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his homes in Florida and Connecticut or anywhere else Singularity can take him. You can follow him on Twitter but not on any social media platform run by evil lords like Facebook.
[ad_2]
