Starlink

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 173.52.238.41 (talk) at 07:08, 13 May 2019 (→‎Launches: fixed a potentially misleading sentence). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Starlink is a satellite constellation development project underway by American company SpaceX,[1] to develop a low-cost, high-performance satellite bus and requisite customer ground transceivers to implement a new space-based Internet communication system.[2][3] SpaceX also plans to sell satellites that use a satellite bus that may be used for military,[4] scientific or exploratory purposes.[5]

File:StarlinkPhase1-1stOrbitalShell,~1600 sats @ 550 km altitude.jpg
Starlink constellation, phase 1, first orbital shell: approximately 1,600 satellites at 550 km altitude

SpaceX has plans to deploy nearly 12,000 satellites in three orbital shells by the mid-2020s: initially placing approximately 1600 in a 550-kilometer (340 mi)-altitude shell, subsequently placing ~2800 Ku- and Ka-band spectrum sats at 1,150 km (710 mi) and ~7500 V-band sats at 340 km (210 mi).[6] The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build and deploy such a network is estimated at nearly US$10 billion.[7]

Development began in 2015, and two prototype test-flight satellites were launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation is slated for May 2019. Initial commercial operation of the constellation could begin in 2020.[8]

The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington, houses the research, development, manufacturing and on-orbit control operations for the satellite Internet project.

History

2015–2017

The communication satellite network SpaceX envisions was publicly announced in January 2015, with the projected design capability to support sufficient bandwidth to carry up to 50% of all backhaul communications traffic, and up to 10% of local Internet traffic, in high-density cities.[3][5] CEO Elon Musk said that there is significant unmet demand for low-cost global broadband capabilities.[9]

SpaceX satellite development facility, Redmond, Washington, in use from 2015 to mid-2018

The opening of the SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond was announced by SpaceX in January 2015, to develop and build out the new communication network. At the time, the Seattle-area office planned to initially hire approximately 60 engineers, and potentially 1,000 people over the next several years.[10] The company operated in 2,800 square meters (30,000 sq ft) of leased space by late 2016, and by January 2017 had taken on a 3,800 square meters (40,625 sq ft) second facility, both in Redmond.[11] In August 2018, SpaceX consolidated all their Seattle-area operations with a move to a larger three-building facility at Redmond Ridge Corporate Center to support satellite manufacturing in addition to R&D.[12]

In July 2016, SpaceX acquired a 740 square meters (8,000 sq ft) creative space in Irvine, California (Orange County).[13] SpaceX job listings indicated the Irvine office would include signal processing, RFIC, and ASIC development for the satellite program.[14]

By January 2016, the company had publicly disclosed plans to have two prototype satellites flying in 2016,[15] and have the initial satellite constellation in orbit and operational by approximately 2020.[5] By October 2016, SpaceX had developed the initial satellites that they hoped to launch and test in 2017, but the satellite division was focusing on a significant business challenge of achieving a sufficiently low-cost design for the user equipment, aiming for something that can ostensibly install easily at end-user premises for approximately US$200. Overall, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said then that the project remained in the "design phase as the company seeks to tackle issues related to user-terminal cost."[2] Deployment, if carried out, would not be until "late in this decade or early in the next."[9] The two original test satellites were not flown, and were used only in ground testing. The planned launch of two revised satellites was moved to 2018.[16][17]

In November 2016, SpaceX filed an application with the FCC for a "non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system in the Fixed-Satellite Service using the Ku and Ka frequency bands."[18]

By March 2017, SpaceX filed plans with the FCC to field a second orbital shell of more than 7500 "V-band satellites in non-geosynchronous orbits to provide communications services" in an electromagnetic spectrum that has not previously been heavily employed for commercial communications services. Called the "V-band low-Earth orbit (VLEO) constellation,"[19] it would consist of 7,518 satellites and would orbit at just 340 kilometres (210 mi) altitude,[20] while the smaller originally-planned group of 4,425 satellites would operate in the Ka- and Ku-bands and orbit at 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) altitude.[19][20] SpaceX plans were unusual in two areas: the company intended to use the little-used V band of the communications spectrum, and also intended to operationally use a new orbital regime, the very-low Earth orbit regime of ~340 km altitude, where atmospheric drag is quite high – normally resulting in short orbital lifetimes.[21] SpaceX has not published the specific spaceflight technology they intend to use to deal with the high-drag environment of VLEO. The March 2017 plan called for SpaceX to launch test satellites of the initial Ka/Ku type in both 2017 and 2018, and begin launching the operational constellation in 2019. Full build-out of the ~1200 km constellation of ~4,440 sats was not then expected to be completed until 2024.[22]

Some controversy arose in 2015–2017 with regulatory authorities on licensing of the communications spectrum for these large constellations of satellites. The traditional and historical regulatory rule for licensing spectrum has been that satellite operators could "launch a single spacecraft to meet their in-service deadline [from the regulator], a policy seen as allowing an operator to block the use of valuable radio spectrum for years without deploying its fleet."[23] By 2017, the US regulatory authority (FCC) had set a six-year deadline to have an entire large constellation deployed to comply with licensing terms. The international regulator, International Telecommunication Union, proposed in mid-2017 a guideline that would be considerably less restrictive. In September 2017, both Boeing and SpaceX petitioned the US FCC for a waiver of the 6-year rule,[23] but that was ultimately not granted. By 2019, the FCC had set the rule to be that half of the constellation must be in orbit in six years, with the full system in orbit by nine years from the date of the license.[6]

SpaceX trademarked the name Starlink for their satellite broadband network in 2017.[24]

SpaceX filed documents in late 2017 with the US FCC to clarify their space debris mitigation plan. The company will "implement an operations plan for the orderly de-orbit of satellites nearing the end of their useful lives (roughly five to seven years) at a rate far faster than is required under international standards. [Satellites] will de-orbit by propulsively moving to a disposal orbit from which they will reenter the Earth's atmosphere within approximately one year after completion of their mission."[25] In March 2018, the FCC issued SpaceX approval with some conditions. SpaceX would need to obtain a separate approval from the ITU.[26][27] The FCC supported a NASA request to ask SpaceX to achieve an even higher level of de-orbiting reliability than the standard that NASA had previously used for itself: reliably deorbiting 90% of the satellites after their missions are complete.[28]

2018–2019

In May 2018, SpaceX expected the total cost of development and buildout of the constellation to approach US$10 billion.[7] In mid-2018, SpaceX reorganized the satellite development division in Redmond, and fired several members of senior management.[12]

In November 2018, SpaceX received US regulatory approval to deploy 7,518 broadband satellites, in addition to the 4,425 approved earlier. SpaceX's initial 4,425 satellites had been requested in the 2016 regulatory filings to orbit at altitudes of 1,110 km to 1,325 km, well above the ISS. The new approval was for the addition of a very-low Earth orbit NGSO [non-geostationary satellite orbit] constellation, consisting of 7,518 satellites operating at altitudes from 335 km to 346 km, below the ISS.[29] Also in November, SpaceX made new regulatory filings with the US FCC to request the ability to alter its previously granted license in order to operate approximately 1,600 of the 4,425 Ka/Ku-band satellites approved for operation at 1,150 km (710 mi) in a "new lower shell of the constellation" at only 550 km (340 mi) orbital altitude.[30][31] These satellites would effectively operate in a third orbital shell, a 550 km orbit, while the higher and lower orbits at ~1200 km and ~340 km would be used only later, once a considerably larger deployment of satellites becomes possible in the later years of the deployment process. The FCC approved the request in April 2019, giving approval to place nearly 12,000 satellites in three orbital shells: initially approximately 1,600 in a 550-kilometer (340 mi)-altitude shell, and subsequently placing ~2800 Ku- and Ka-band spectrum satellites at 1,150 km (710 mi) and ~7500 V-band satellites at 340 km (210 mi).[6]

With plans by several providers to build commercial space-Internet megaconstellations of thousands of satellites increasing likely to become a reality, the US military began to perform test studies in 2018 to evaluate how the networks might be used. In December, the US Air Force issued a US$28 million contract for specific test services on Starlink.[32]

In February 2019, a sister company of SpaceX, SpaceX Services, Inc., filed a request with the US Federal Communications Commission to request a license for the operation of up to 1,000,000 fixed satellite earth stations that will communicate with its non-geostationary orbit satellite (NGSO) Starlink system.[33]

By April 2019, SpaceX was transitioning their satellite efforts from R&D to manufacturing, with the planned first launch of a large batch of satellites to orbit, and the clear need to achieve an average launch rate of "44 high-performance, low-cost spacecraft built and launched every month for the next 60 months" to get the 2,200 satellites launched to support their FCC spectrum allocation license assignment.[34] SpaceX has said they will meet the deadline of having half the constellation "in orbit within six years of authorization ... and the full system in nine years."[6]

Phase Orbit shell (Km) # Satellites Half size contractual completion time Full size contractual completion time Current completion (12 May 2019)
1 550 4409 March 2024 March 2027 2[citation needed]
2 340 7518 November 2024 November 2027 0[citation needed]

Launches

By March 2019, SpaceX listed the first launch of operational Starlink satellites for no earlier than May 2019.[35] The deployment of the first 1,584 will be into 40 orbital planes of 66 satellites each, but with a requested lower minimum elevation angle: 25 degrees rather than the 40 degrees of the other two orbital shells.[30]: 17 

On May 11, 2019, Elon Musk published images of 60 satellites loaded into a Falcon fairing, and gave a planned launch date of May 15.[36] There may be up to 17 total launches of Starlink satellites planned as noted by Musk.[37]

Completed launches
Launch date and time (UTC) Launch site Launch vehicle Orbit Inclination Number of satellites deployed Notes Outcome
February 22, 2018 14:17 [38][39] Vandenberg F9 FT ♺

B1032.2

LEO 97.44° 2 Two test satellites known as Tintin A and B[40][41] (MicroSat-2a and 2b) Success
Future launches
Launch date and time (UTC) Launch site Launch vehicle Orbit Inclination Expected number of satellites deployed Notes
May 16, 2019 02:30[42] CCAFS SLC-40 F9 B5 ♺ LEO 60[43] Second launch of test satellites for SpaceX's Starlink constellation. [44] At "production design"[45]
2019 (TBD)[46] CC 39A or 40 F9 B5 ♺ Third launch
2019 (TBD)[46] CC 39A or 40 F9 B5 ♺ Fourth launch

Services

Global broadband Internet

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 cashflow from selling satellite internet services would be necessary to fund SpaceX Mars plans.[47]

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.[10][48]

After the failures of previous satellite-to-consumer space ventures, satellite industry consultant Roger Rusch said in 2015 "It's highly unlikely that you can make a successful business out of this."[10] Musk publicly acknowledged that 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.[49] Nevertheless, internal documents leaked in February 2017 indicate that SpaceX expected more than US$30 billion in revenue by 2025 from its satellite constellation, while revenues by its launch business were expected to reach US$5 billion in the same year.[50][51]

In February 2015, financial analysts questioned established geosynchronous orbit communications satellite fleet operators as to how they intend to respond to the competitive threat of SpaceX/Google and OneWeb LEO communication satellites.[52][needs update] In October, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell indicated that while development continues, the business case for the long-term rollout of an operational satellite network was still in an early phase.[53]

In 2015, court documents indicate that SpaceX had engaged in collaboration with wireless chip-maker Broadcom. Five key engineers subsequently left to join SpaceX, leading to a lawsuit filed by Broadcom alleging that "SpaceX stole our best minds." In March, an Orange County judge denied Broadcom's multiple restraining order requests.[54][needs update]

With the initial launch of the first 60 satellites of the operational constellation in 2019, SpaceX indicated that it would require 360 sats in the constellation to achieve even minor broadband coverage of Earth, and 720 of the first ~1600 to provide moderate coverage.[55]

Use beyond Earth

In the long-term, SpaceX intends to develop and deploy a version of the satellite communication system to serve Mars.[9]

Satellite hardware

The Internet communication satellites are expected to be in the smallsat-class of 100-to-500 kg (220-to-1,100 lb)-mass, which were intended to be in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of approximately 1,100 kilometers (680 mi). However, SpaceX ultimately decided to keep the satellites at a relatively low 550 kilometers (340 mi), due to concerns about the space environment.[56] Initial plans as of January 2015 were for the constellation to be made up of approximately 4,000 cross-linked[49] satellites, more than twice as many operational satellites as were in orbit in January 2015.[5]

The satellites will employ optical inter-satellite links and phased array beam-forming and digital processing technologies in the Ku and Ka bands, according to documents filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[57][58] While specifics of the phased array technologies have been disclosed as part of the frequency application, SpaceX enforced confidentiality regarding details of the optical inter-satellite links, other than that they will utilize frequencies above 10,000 GHz.[59]

The satellites will be mass-produced, at a 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."[60] "In order to revolutionize space, we have to address both satellites and rockets."[5] "Smaller satellites are crucial to lowering the cost of space-based Internet and communications."[10]

In February 2015, SpaceX asked the FCC to consider future innovative uses of the Ka-band spectrum before the FCC commits to 5G communications regulations that would create barriers to entry, since SpaceX is a new entrant to the satellite communications market. The SpaceX non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) communications satellite constellation will operate in the high-frequency bands above 24 GHz, "where steerable earth station transmit antennas would have a wider geographic impact, and significantly lower satellite altitudes magnify the impact of aggregate interference from terrestrial transmissions."[61]

The system will not compete with the 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.[49]

Internet traffic via a geostationary satellite has a minimum theoretical round-trip latency of at least 477 ms (between user and ground gateway), but in practice, current satellites have latencies of 600 ms or more. Starlink satellites would orbit at 1⁄30 to 1⁄105 of the height of geostationary orbits, and thus offer more practical Earth-to-sat latencies of around 25 to 35 ms, comparable to existing cable and fiber networks[62] (although transmitting a signal halfway around the globe takes at least 67 ms at the speed of light).

The system will use a peer-to-peer protocol claimed to be "simpler than IPv6",[63] though no details have been as yet released.

Starlink satellites use Hall-effect thrusters for orbit raising and attitude control.[64]

Prototype development and testing

At the time of the June 2015 announcement, SpaceX had stated plans to launch the first two demonstration satellites in 2016,[15] but the target date was subsequently moved out to 2018.[16] SpaceX began flight testing their satellite technologies in 2018[16] with the launch of two test satellites. The two identical satellites were called MicroSat-2a and MicroSat-2b[65] during development but were renamed Tintin A and Tintin B upon orbital deployment in February 2018. Two previously manufactured satellites, MicroSat-1a and MicroSat-1b were meant to be launched together as secondary payloads on one of the Iridium-NEXT flights, but they were instead used for ground-based tests.[66]

MicroSat 1a & 1b 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 images of Earth and the satellite.[67]

Tintin A and B were inserted into a 514 km orbit. Per FCC filings[68] they were intended to raise themselves to an 1125 km orbit, the operational altitude for StarLink LEO satellites per the earliest regulatory filings, but stayed close to their original orbits. SpaceX announced in November 2018 that they would like to operate an initial shell of about 1,600 satellites in the constellation at about 550 km orbital altitude, at an altitude similar to the orbits Tintin A and B stayed in.[30]: 17 

The satellites currently orbit in a circular low Earth orbit at about 500 kilometers (310 mi) altitude[69] 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.[15][70]

Competition and market effects

In addition to the OneWeb constellation, announced nearly concurrently with the SpaceX constellation, a 2015 proposal from Samsung has outlined a 4,600-satellite constellation orbiting at 1,400 kilometers (900 mi) that could provide a zettabyte per month capacity worldwide, an equivalent of 200 gigabytes per month for 5 billion users of Internet data.[71][72] Telesat announced a smaller 117 satellite constellation in 2015 and plans to deliver initial service in 2021.[73] Amazon announced a large broadband internet satellite constellation in April 2019, planning to launch 3,236 satellites in the next decade in what the company calls "Project Kuiper", a satellite constellation that will work in concert[74] with Amazon's previously-announced large network of 12 satellite ground station facilities (the "AWS Ground Station unit") announced in November 2018.[75]

By October 2017, the expectation for large increases in satellite network capacity from emerging lower-altitude broadband constellations caused market players to cancel investments in new geosynchronous orbit broadband communications satellites.[76]

See also

  • Globalstar – an operational low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for satellite phone and low-speed data communications
  • Iridium satellite constellation – an operational constellation of 66 active LEO satellites for global satellite phone service
  • OneWeb satellite constellation – an under-construction LEO satellite constellation, to provide global Internet broadband service to individual consumers from 2020
  • ORBCOMM – an operational constellation used to provide global asset monitoring and messaging services from its constellation of 29 LEO communications satellites orbiting at 775 km
  • Teledesic – a former (1990s) venture to accomplish broadband satellite Internet services
  • ViaSat Communications – offers an operational Internet service from four geostationary satellites
  • Laser communication in space – key technology used to establish the inter-satellite links of the Starlink constellation

References

  1. ^ Grush, Loren (15 February 2018). "SpaceX is about to launch two of its space Internet satellites — the first of nearly 12,000". The Verge. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b de Selding, Peter B. (5 October 2016). "SpaceX's Shotwell on Falcon 9 inquiry, discounts for reused rockets and Silicon Valley's test-and-fail ethos". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b Gates, Dominic (16 January 2015). "Elon Musk touts launch of 'SpaceX Seattle'". Seattle Times. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  4. ^ Eric, Ralph (21 December 2018). "SpaceX's Starlink eyed by US military as co. raises $500-750M for development". The Verge. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e SpaceX Seattle 2015, 16 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Henry, Caleb (26 April 2019). "FCC OKs lower orbit for some Starlink satellites". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 April 2019. lower the orbit of nearly 1,600 of its proposed broadband satellites. The Federal Communications Commission said April 26 it was ok with SpaceX changing its plans to orbit those satellites at 550 kilometers instead of 1,150 kilometers. SpaceX says the adjustment, requested six months ago, will make a safer space environment, since any defunct satellites at the lower altitude would reenter the Earth's atmosphere in five years even without propulsion. The lower orbit also means more distance between Starlink and competing internet constellations proposed by OneWeb and Telesat. FCC approval allows satellite companies to provide communications services in the United States. The agency granted SpaceX market access in March 2018 for 4,425 satellites using Ku- and Ka-band spectrum, and authorized 7,518 V-band satellites in November. SpaceX's modified plans apply to the smaller of the two constellations.
  7. ^ a b Baylor, Michael (17 May 2018). "With Block 5, SpaceX to increase launch cadence and lower prices". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018. The system is designed to improve global internet access by utilizing thousands of satellites in Low Earth orbit. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated in a TED Talk last month that she expects the constellation to cost at least $10 billion. Therefore, reducing launch costs will be vital.
  8. ^ "Musk shakes up SpaceX in race to make satellite launch window: sources". Reuters. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Foust, Jeff (10 October 2016). "Shotwell says SpaceX "homing in" on cause of Falcon 9 pad explosion". SpaceNews. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d Petersen, Melody (16 January 2015). "Elon Musk and Richard Branson invest in satellite-Internet ventures". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  11. ^ "SpaceX adds a big new lab to its satellite development operation in Seattle area". 27 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b SpaceX reorganizes Starlink satellite operation, reportedly with high-level firings, Alan Boyle, GeekWire, 31 October 2018, accessed 2 November 2018.
  13. ^ "SpaceX expands to new 8,000 sqft office space in Orange County, CA". www.teslarati.com.
  14. ^ SpaceX. "Open Positions". SpaceX.
  15. ^ a b c Boyle, Alan (4 June 2015). "How SpaceX Plans to Test Its Satellite Internet Service in 2016". NBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  16. ^ a b c "Caleb Henry on Twitter".
  17. ^ "SpaceX FCC Application Technical Application – QUESTION 7: PURPOSE OF EXPERIMENT".
  18. ^ "FCC SELECTED APPLICATION LISTING File Number = SATLOA2016111500118". International Bureau Application Filing and Reporting System. FCC. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  19. ^ a b "FCC gets five new applications for non-geostationary satellite constellations". SpaceNews. 2 March 2017.
  20. ^ a b "SpaceX asks FCC to make exception for LEO constellations in Connect America Fund decisions". SpaceNews. 19 September 2017.
  21. ^ Messier, Doug (3 March 2017). "SpaceX Wants to Launch 12,000 Satellites". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  22. ^ "SpaceX plans to launch first Internet-providing satellites in 2019". 4 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  23. ^ a b "SES asks ITU to replace 'one and done' rule for satellite constellations with new system – Space Intel Report". 4 September 2017.
  24. ^ "SpaceX seeks to trademark the name 'Starlink' for satellite broadband network". 19 September 2017.
  25. ^ Brodkin, Jon (4 October 2017). "SpaceX and OneWeb broadband satellites raise fears about space debris". Ars Technica. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  26. ^ "FCC Authorizes SpaceX to Provide Broadband Satellite Services". Federal Communications Commission. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  27. ^ Brodkin, Jon (30 March 2018). "FCC approves SpaceX plan to launch 4,425 broadband satellites". Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  28. ^ "FCC approves SpaceX constellation, denies waiver for easier deployment deadline - SpaceNews.com". 29 March 2018.
  29. ^ Brodkin, Jon (30 March 2018). "FCC tells SpaceX it can deploy up to 11,943 broadband satellites". Ars Technica. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  30. ^ a b c Wiltshire, William M., ed. (18 November 2018), "Application for Fixed Satellite Service by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC", SAT-MOD-20181108-00083 / SATMOD2018110800083, https://fcc.report: Space Exploration Holdings, LLC via FCC regulatory release process, retrieved 24 March 2019, Space Exploration Holdings, LLC seeks to modify its Ku/Ka-band NGSO license to relocate satellites previously authorized to operate at an altitude of 1,150 km to an altitude of 550 km, and to make related changes to the operations of the satellites in this new lower shell of the constellation. {{citation}}: External link in |place= (help)
  31. ^ SPACEX NON-GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE SYSTEM, Attachment A, TECHNICAL INFORMATION TO SUPPLEMENT SCHEDULE S, US Federal Communications Commission, 8 November 2018, accessed 23 November 2018.
  32. ^ "Air Force laying groundwork for future military use of commercial megaconstellations". SpaceNews.com. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  33. ^ SpaceX Services Application for Blanket-licensed Earth stations, SES-LIC-INTR2019-00217, SpaceX, 1 February 2019, accessed 9 February 2019.
  34. ^ SpaceX’s first dedicated Starlink launch announced as mass production begins, Teslatrati, 8 April 2019, accessed 9 April 2019.
  35. ^ Falcon Heavy and Starlink headline SpaceX’s upcoming manifest, Michael Baylor, 6 March 2019, accessed 24 March 2019.
  36. ^ Musk, Elon (11 May 2019). "First 60 SpaceX Starlink satellites loaded into Falcon fairing. Tight fit". Twitter: @elonmusk. Retrieved 12 May 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  37. ^ Musk, Elon (11 May 2019). "Much will likely go wrong on 1st mission. Also, 6 more launches of 60 sats needed for minor coverage, 12 for moderate". @elonmusk. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  38. ^ "SpaceX launches Falcon 9 with PAZ, Starlink demo and new fairing – NASASpaceFlight.com". Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  39. ^ Spaceflight, Mike Wall 2018-02-22T21:19:16Z. "SpaceX's Prototype Internet Satellites Are Up and Running". Space.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Musk, Elon (22 February 2018). "First two Starlink demo satellites, called Tintin A & B, deployed and communicating to Earth stations (video)". Twitter. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  41. ^ "Elon Musk on Twitter: "First two Starlink demo satellites, called Tintin A & B, deployed and communicating to Earth stations… "". 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Baylor, Michael [@nextspaceflight] (7 May 2019). "According to range scheduling, #SpaceX is targeting May 15th at 22:30 EDT (02:30 UTC on the 16th) for the first dedicated launch of #Starlink satellites. The launch window is expected to last about 90 minutes" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 May 2019 – via Twitter.
  43. ^ Musk, Elon (11 May 2019). "First 60 @SpaceX Starlink satellites loaded into Falcon fairing. Tight fit.pic.twitter.com/gZq8gHg9uK". @elonmusk. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  44. ^ Henry, Caleb (26 April 2019). "FCC OKs lower orbit for some Starlink satellites". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  45. ^ Musk, Elon (11 May 2019). "These are production design, unlike our earlier Tintin demo sats". @elonmusk. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  46. ^ a b Selding, Peter B. de (7 May 2019). "@SpaceX Shotwell: at least 2 Starlink missions beyond the mid-May launch. We are still seeing strong uptake of our launch services, and Starlink would be on top of that. The Starlinks going up May 15 have no intersat links, they are test satellites.@SATELLITEDC". @pbdes. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  47. ^ Foust, Jeff (12 March 2018). "Musk reiterates plans for testing BFR". SpaceNews. Retrieved 15 March 2018. Construction of the first prototype spaceship is in progress. 'We're actually building that ship right now,' he said. 'I think we'll probably be able to do short flights, short sort of up-and-down flights, probably sometime in the first half of next year.'
  48. ^ Fernholz, Tim (24 June 2015). "Inside the race to create the next generation of satellite internet". Quartz. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  49. ^ a b c Elon Musk, Mike Suffradini (7 July 2015). ISSRDC 2015 – A Conversation with Elon Musk (2015.7.7) (video). Event occurs at 46:45–50:40. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  50. ^ Winkler, Rolfe; Pasztor, Andy (13 January 2017). "Exclusive Peek at SpaceX Data Shows Loss in 2015, Heavy Expectations for Nascent Internet Service". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  51. ^ Etherington, Darrell. "SpaceX hopes satellite Internet business will pad thin rocket launch margins". TechCrunch. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  52. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (23 February 2015). "Wall Street Grills Fleet Operators Over Mega-Constellation Threat". Space News. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  53. ^ SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell signals go-slow approach for Seattle satellite plan, Alan Boyle, 27 October 2015, retrieved 2015-10-28.
  54. ^ Axe, David (1 April 2016). "'SpaceX Stole Our Best Minds': Chip-Maker Sues Elon Musk Startup" – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  55. ^ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1127391581072347137
  56. ^ Grush, Loren (9 November 2018). "SpaceX wants to fly some internet satellites closer to Earth to cut down on space trash". The Verge. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  57. ^ Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (15 November 2016). "SPACEX NON-GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE SYSTEM – ATTACHMENT A". FCC Space Station Applications. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  58. ^ Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (15 November 2016). "SAT-LOA-20161115-00118". FCC Space Station Applications. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  59. ^ Wiltshire, William M. (20 April 2017). "Re: Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, IBFS File No. SAT-LOA-20161115-00118". FCC Space Station Application. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  60. ^ Hull, Dana; Johnsson, Julie (14 January 2015). "SpaceX chief Elon Musk has high hopes for Seattle office". Seattle Times. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  61. ^ Alleven, Monica (22 February 2015). "In 5G proceeding, SpaceX urges FCC to protect future satellite ventures". FierceWirelessTech. Retrieved 3 March 2015. SpaceX pointed out that it recently announced plans to build a network of 4,000 non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) communications satellites, which it will manufacture, launch and operate.
  62. ^ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/02/spacexs-satellite-broadband-nears-fcc-approval-and-first-test-launch/
  63. ^ "Elon Musk". twitter.com. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  64. ^ SpaceX’s Starlink satellite lawyers refute latest “flawed” OneWeb critique, Teslarati, 22 March 2019, accessed 12 May 2019.
  65. ^ "MicroSat 2a, 2b (Tintin A, B)". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  66. ^ "MicroSat 1a, 1b". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  67. ^ "SpaceX presentation at NOAA" (PDF).
  68. ^ Tintin A and Tintin B at n2yo.com
  69. ^ Kang, Cecilia; Davenport, Christian (9 June 2015). "SpaceX founder files with government to provide Internet service from space" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  70. ^ Gershgorn, Dave (17 August 2015). "Samsung Wants To Blanket The Earth In Satellite Internet". Popular Science. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  71. ^ Khan, Farooq (2015). "Mobile Internet from the Heavens". arXiv:1508.02383 [cs.NI].
  72. ^ "Telesat to announce manufacturing plans for LEO constellation in coming months". 18 February 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  73. ^ Sheetz, Michael (4 April 2019). "Amazon wants to launch thousands of satellites so it can offer broadband internet from space". CNBC. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  74. ^ Sheetz, Michael (27 November 2018). "Amazon cloud business reaches into space with satellite connection service". CNBC. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  75. ^ "Panasonic Avionics' surprising conversion into a satellite mega-constellation believer – Space Intel Report". 5 October 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Starlink&oldid=896849099"