Tag: Starlink
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Elon Musk reveals how to stuff 60 Starlink satellites on SpaceX’s Falcon rocket
We now know how many of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband data satellites, developed in Redmond, Wash., can be crammed into the nose cone of a Falcon rocket. The answer to the ultimate question is 60. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed how five dozen satellites fit, just barely, inside a Falcon fairing today in a tweet: First…
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SpaceX plans to launch dozens of Starlink broadband satellites next week
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in February 2018, sending the first two Starlink demonstration satellites into orbit. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX confirmed that it will launch dozens of Starlink satellites in one go, as early as May 15, setting the stage for what’s expected to become…
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FCC approves SpaceX’s plan to operate Starlink satellites at lower altitude
SpaceX launched two test satellites for the Starlink in February 2018. The Starlink demonstration craft launched as secondary payloads with the Spanish radar observation satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX The Federal Communications Commission has granted a request by SpaceX to begin launching spacecraft for the company’s…
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FCC approves SpaceX’s revised Starlink satellite plan; first wave gets set for liftoff
A simulation shows how a 4,425-satellite constellation could be deployed for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. (Mark Handley / University College London) The Federal Communications Commission today approved SpaceX’s proposed revisions in its plan to put thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit to provide global broadband connectivity, clearing the way to start launching satellites…
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Meow! Elon Musk calls Jeff Bezos a satellite copycat — and gets called out
The rivalry between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has surfaced on Twitter. Again. (Musk Photo: TED via YouTube; Bezos Photo: GeekWire / Kevin Lisota) The fur is flying in the broadband internet satellite race. It all started when we found out that Amazon was planning its own 3,236-satellite constellation to provide…
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SpaceX Starlink satellite veterans join Amazon’s competing Project Kuiper team
SpaceX’s two prototype Starlink satellites are seen on either side of their carrier in advance of their launch last year. Industry sources say some of the engineers who were involved in developing those prototypes will be playing leadership roles in Amazon’s Project Kuiper. (SpaceX via YouTube) The leadership team for Amazon’s newly revealed broadband satellite…
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SpaceX proves higher than necessary safety of Starlink constellation
In an electronic filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX has demonstrated a higher than necessary safety for their Starlink constellation satellites in terms of collision risk with other objects in orbit in the scenario that a Starlink satellite becomes uncontrollable after launch. The filing, in response to FCC questions, reveals SpaceX’s upcoming space-based…
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Falcon Heavy and Starlink headline SpaceX’s upcoming manifest
With the all-important Demo-1 launch complete, SpaceX has quickly begun converting Pad 39A to ready it for Falcon Heavy flights. The launch provider is expected to fly not one but two Falcon Heavy missions within the coming months as part of an exciting manifest that also includes the first dedicated Starlink mission. Almost immediately following…
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SpaceX seeks FCC approval for up to 1M Starlink satellite earth stations
A simulation shows how a 4,425-satellite constellation could be deployed for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. (Mark Handley / University College London) SpaceX has opened a new window into its ambitious plans for a global satellite broadband data network, thanks to an earth-station license application filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The application, filed on behalf of…
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Telesat makes deals with Blue Origin and Loon for its internet satellite network
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith flank Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg, who’s holding a model of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. (Blue Origin via Twitter) Canada’s biggest satellite operator, Telesat, has signed agreements with Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Alphabet’s Loon aerial telecommunications venture to support its…