Would-be subscribers outside North America will have to wait some tome for access to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system. Starlink VP Jonathan Hofeller, speaking at last week’s Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week virtual edition, told attendees that as far as North America was concerned Starlink would stay as a ‘direct to consumer’ business. Starlink is already […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite service is providing impressive speeds to its beta-test users. Numerous reports are emerging that downlink speeds, according to speedtest specialist Ookla, are reaching 160 Mb/s and for at least one rural customer in Montana stated that his downlink speed was 174 Mb/s and upload of 33 Mb/s. Another on the West […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink service will cost US rural subscribers $99 (€84) a month. The beta-test users will also have to pay $499 for the phased-array ground terminal, a tripod stand for the antenna and a WiFi router. This price seems high, but for rural and frequently isolated potential users it could prove invaluable. The pricing […]
Despite a few technical and weather-related delays SpaceX successfully launched another 60 of its Starlink high-speed broadband-by-satellite craft into orbit on October 24th from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral (at 15.31 UTC). This extra batch of 60 satellites was the 15th launch for the Starlink fleet, and takes the overall fleet size to well […]
SpaceX launched another 60 of its Starlink broadband-by-satellite craft into orbit at 8.25am Florida time on October 18th. This was the 14th batch of Starlink launches and takes the delivered total of Low Earth orbiting satellites to 835 (although some have been deorbited). The 60 satellites on board were deployed into a near-circular orbit some […]
HBO has commissioned a 6-part drama series about SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk. The episodic drama is based on a book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. The series, according to trade magazine Variety, will document how Musk handpicked a group of like-minded engineers to work […]
Elon Musk’s satellite constellation Starlink has registered a business in Australia. Starlink Australia Pty Ltd has been created out of a pre-registered company – Tibro Australia Pty Ltds. Tibro (‘orbit’ backwards) in Australia was granted a telecommunications licence in Australia (by the Australian Communications & Media Authority) on August 7th. There has been no formal […]
Elon Musk, in a tweet after the latest Starlink launch, said that once this batch of 60 satellites are in their correct orbital positions then a test broadband service will start. “We will be able to roll out a fairly wide public beta [service] in northern US & hopefully southern Canada,” Musk said. “Other countries […]
Three important rocket launches from Florida’s Space Coast were delayed over the past two weeks prompting Elon Musk, in a Tweet, to admit that further improvements will need to be made to the Falcon-9 rocket system if his SpaceX business has a chance of completing a planned 48-launch schedule in 2021. Musk said he was […]
SES has signed with SpaceX to launch four new satellites. The four satellites are for SES and its O3b mPOWER ‘next generation’ fleet being built by Boeing. They are each Medium Earth Orbiting craft. Just like the initial seven O3b mPOWER satellites procured, these additional four satellites will be launched into space on board Falcon […]