The European Commission (EC), along with the European Space Agency (ESA), continues to firmly back the establishment of an independent and European-backed low Earth orbiting (LEO) broadband constellation. However, there’s criticism that the proposed €6 billion scheme is unnecessary and that there are plenty of commercial schemes more than capable of filling consumer demand. The […]
SpaceX’s live coverage of its Starlink launches and its landings at sea make spectacular viewing, but the images come at a significant cost. SpaceX’s Starlink contracts with geostationary operators, which provided the return path to SpaceX’s HQ, are hefty deals. “At over $165,000 per month for 25 Mb/s download by 25 Mb/s upload of pre-paid […]
SpaceX managed another textbook launch on July 10th when it placed 46 Starlink craft into orbit on a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A few minutes later the first stage booster from the Falcon 9 rocket landed onto the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. The […]
SpaceX is planning to launch 53 Starlink broadband satellites today (July 7th). Weather permitting, the launch, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, will take place at 14.11pm (BST). The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, Transporter-3, and seven other Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return […]
SpaceX rocket engineers and technicians are gearing up for an intense period of launches for its Starlink broadband-by-satellite programme. The five planned launches from July 7th to July 14th will likely carry at least 200 satellites into orbit. Additionally, SpaceX has some commercial obligations to fulfil including a NASA flight (Dragon CRS-2 around July 15th) […]
Amazon’s Project Kuiper planned mega-constellation of satellites has written to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking that it limits the overall size of rival SpaceX and its Starlink constellation. Starlink wants almost 30,000 satellites in its constellation while Kuiper’s initial plan is for 3236 craft. Kuiper argues to the FCC that Starlink should be limited. […]
OneWeb already has some two-thirds of its 648 broadband constellation in orbit while Amazon’s Kuiper has yet to start launching its initial fleet of 3,236 satellites. Elon Musk’s Starlink has launched 2,706 craft into their target low Earth orbits. Some of the Starlinks have failed but OneWeb and Kuiper have agreed a set of planned […]
UK comms regulator Ofcom is proposing to allow satellite operators to access more spectrum so they can provide a wider range of broadband services, including in hard-to-reach areas. As consumer demand for satellite services increases, Ofcom wants to support innovation by extending spectrum access under its Earth Station Network licence to include the 14.25-14.5 GHz […]
SpaceX will launch its latest batch of 53 Starlink broadband-by-satellite craft into orbit today (June 17th). Launch time is scheduled 12.08 Eastern Time (16.08 UTC) from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The Falcon 9 booster rocket is now a tried and tested vehicle having flown on 12 previous occasions. Following the launch it is expected to […]
Technically, Elon Musk’s Starlink is working well. Musk’s generous supply of free Starlink terminals to fighters and military logistical technicians in Ukraine is both praiseworthy and a clear example as to how emergency supply of equipment can be managed. But making Starlink work for a global audience is a different – and major – problem, […]