Lifeboat Foundation

The United States Air Force signed a deal with SpaceX valued at around $28 million in 2018, to assess the Starlink network’s performance on military platforms. The Air Force is actively experimenting with how space-based internet could enhance Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). These operations require moving vast quantities of data between the five domains of warfare: ground, sea, sky, outer space, and cyberspace. The military needs a reliable communication system at all times to protect and defend the country from potential threats. The assessment of Starlink will offer the military insight on whether it should purchase Starlink service long-term.

U.S. Air Force Chief for Acquisition Dr. Will Roper, who serves as the principal adviser for technology research and development, met with reporters to discuss a live-fire military exercise that took place early this month, Investors news reports. During the conference, Roper shared SpaceX’s Starlink network was tested during the live-fire exercise as part of the military’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). – “What I’ve seen from Starlink has been impressive and positive,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “They’re cleverly engineered satellites cleverly deployed. So, there’s a lot to learn from how they’re designed and I think that there’s a lot we can learn from them.”

Roper shared that the Air Force connected Starlink to a “variety of air and terrestrial assets”. Starlink terminals are hooked to the cockpit of a Boeing (BA) KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to assess the network’s performance while the airplanes fly.

Part of my series countering common misconceptions in space journalism.

This blog is a follow on to my original post on Starlink. Starlink is an emerging high performance satellite-based internet routing network developed by SpaceX. Its ultimate purpose is to become the de-facto internet backbone provider, connect billions more people to the internet, and revolutionize access to space.

Continue reading “Starlink packet routing” »

“Computer network attack against Indian satellite communications in 2017” is one among a slew of counter-space activities carried out by China since 2007, listed in a new report by US-based China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), which provides China’s space narrative among other things.

Isro, while conceding that cyber-attacks are a constant threat, maintains that its systems has not been compromised so far.

The 142-page report notes that between 2012 and 2018, China carried out multiple cyber-attacks, but elaborates on the result only in one case.

From the beginning, SpaceX has had a goal of bringing high speed internet service to underserved locations, creating competition in areas that currently have limited options or, in many cases, monopolies causing higher prices.

With its constellation of low orbit satellites, Starlink will be able to shake up the broadband industry by offering a new category of broadband. Without the need to place expensive infrastructure like underground or pole-based wiring required for current broadband options, SpaceX could more easily reach rural areas and begin to close the digital divide.

A study from Broadband Now shows that, in addition to working toward closing that gap, introducing a new internet provider could reduce the price of internet service by up to 40%. The chart below shows how adding additional providers in an area significantly reduces the average monthly cost of internet service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8egE31KKKz8&feature=youtu.be

The Horizon 2020 EU-funded MOSAR project (MOdular Spacecraft Assembly and Reconfiguration) aims to develop a ground demonstrator for on-orbit modular and reconfigurable satellites.

The project will investigate and demonstrate technologies that enable a fundamental paradigm shift in satellite design and deployment that could potentially impact all future space missions.

Continue reading “MOSAR. A Modular and Reconfigurable Future for Space Missions” »

The low-orbit satellite service should be a huge step up for rural Americans. But experts say it won’t be the game changer many expect.

OneWeb is set to resume launches with Arianespace in December to build out its Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet constellation. The satellite operator announced Monday that Arianespace will provide 16 more launches, each placing another 34 to 36 satellites into OneWeb’s constellation.

This update comes as OneWeb is in the midst of a restructuring deal with the U.K. government, Bharti Global Limited, and Hughes Network Systems after filing for Chapter 11 in March. The U.K. government and Bharti Global Limited announced in July they formed a consortium to acquire OneWeb, each providing $500 million. Hughes joined the consortium in July with a $50 million investment. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the Fourth Quarter of 2020.

OneWeb has 74 satellites in orbit and its return-to-flight launch in December will increase the fleet to 110 satellites. The company plans to complete the deployment of its constellation by the end of 2022, and start commercial services by the end of 2021. The initial service regions above 50 degrees North latitude will include the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic seas and Canada.

Starlink Terminal Digital Illustration Created By: Erc X @ErcXspace via Twitter.

SpaceX is actively assessing the Starlink broadband network’s performance, it begun a private beta service for users across multiple U.S. states. Company employees received early access to the user terminal and Wi-Fi router device to connect and receive data from the Starlink satellites in space. To date, there are around 708 internet-beaming Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, out of the 4,409 satellites SpaceX plans to initially deploy.

The 19-inch user terminal dish will not require a professional to install at home, like other networks. The customer will be able to easily install the service – “Instructions are simply: plug-in socket, point at sky,” the founder of SpaceX Elon Musk said. Early this year, he shared that the Starlink terminal dish features the ability to search for the satellite constellation –“Starlink terminal has motors to self-adjust optimal angle to view sky,” Musk shared. The device’s technology is advanced enough to find the signal on its own, users will not have to figure out where the Starlink constellation might be nor adjust the terminal as the satellites move across the sky.

The first performance numbers from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service are coming in and they’re looking great. End-user terminal production numbers, though, are another matter.