2 comments

  • dmix 482 days ago
    I was curious what Gen2 offers:

    > Gen2 satellites are expected to feature inter-satellite laser links that will enable communication with one another to transfer data at a much faster rate. The FCC filing says the Gen2 System will also feature other new capabilities and be launched by Starship. “[…] The satellites will be somewhat larger and generate more power, enabling them to support expanded capabilities now and accommodate additional payloads in the future...” - meaning, SpaceX could plan to offer companies and organizations the capability of hosting their antennas, sensors, or cameras, etc. aboard the Starlink satellite chassis. This will be useful to get the most out of the satellites' life.

    https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/starlink-orbi...

    I'm curious what that means for performance and capacity.

    Also only 7500 of the 28k satellites were approved (1/4th), apparently out of concern for interference.

    • MrRadar 482 days ago
      One of the already-announced features of the Gen 2 satellites is the ability to connect directly to standard 4G LTE handsets to send emergency messages (similar to the SOS feature on the latest iPhone, but not limited to any specific phone model). In the US they will be partnering with T-Mobile to offer the service (probably using their band 25 spectrum).

      https://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-starlink-satellite...

      • zamadatix 482 days ago
        The coolest part of the SpaceX/T-Mobile one isn't limited to emergency messages. Not that it'd be a particularly great experience but you're able to use it to say "I'll be back 4 hours early, decided not to do the longer trail" or whatever.
    • virtuallynathan 481 days ago
      FWIW, this whole thing is a bit confusing -- there's the Gen2 constellation and the V2.0 satellite. The V2.0 satellite is huge, ~6.4x2.7m with 2 solar arrays totaling 257m^2. Elon has said it will deliver close to an order of magnitude more capacity.
    • justinclift 481 days ago
      Kind of wonder what they'd be like for image or signal capture, if they have a decent camera (or signal receiver) on them pointing at things (potentially also pointing at earth targets too).

      For "earth sized array" type of thing.

  • shagie 482 days ago
    The section on orbital tolerances:

    79. Collision Risk at Specific Operational Altitudes. Viasat and Kuiper assert that the 468 satellites SpaceX proposes to operate in the 604 km and 614 km shells will not comply with the Commission’s individual satellite collision risk metric of 0.001.305 Viasat also expresses concern with satellites planned for operations at 360 km.306 Since we do not authorize satellites planned for operations at these altitudes in this grant, we do not reach these issues.

    80. Orbital Tolerances. The satellites authorized in this grant are planned for operations in orbital shells centered at altitudes from 525 km to 535 km. SpaceX has requested orbital tolerances of +70 km and -50 km, i.e., the satellites in any orbital shell can be maintained for regular operations anywhere within an altitude range of 70 kilometers above or 50 kilometers below the center altitude. The Gen2 Starlink satellites in the authorized shells would, if this request is granted, be authorized for regular operations at altitudes ranging from as low as 475 km to as high as 605 km.307 This represents a substantially larger range of altitudes than for the Gen1 Starlink satellites. SpaceX states that this orbital tolerance will allow the satellites in Gen2 Starlink to retain their operational life in periods of high drag and maintain low passive decay times in the event the satellite becomes non-maneuverable.308

    81. If we were to authorize SpaceX’s operations with the orbital tolerance requested, Gen2 Starlink satellite operations would be permitted at altitudes within the altitudes at which Kuiper’s constellation will operate, beginning at altitudes around 580 km and above. Kuiper requests that we require SpaceX to limit the orbital tolerances of its satellites to keep its operations below 580 km.309 Kuiper does not object to orbital overlap with smaller systems and agrees with SpaceX that nothing in the Commission’s rules limits which orbits an operator may choose, but Kuiper emphasizes the risks posed by the overlap of two systems operating at the scale of Kuiper’s and SpaceX’s proposed operations and requests that the Commission require SpaceX to operate all Gen2 Starlink satellites at or below 580 km

    82. The record does not reflect with any specificity a need for Gen2 Starlink satellite operations at altitudes above 580 km, as opposed to the +45 to +55 km tolerance that can be achieved if operations are maintained below 580 km. We also note that one of the reasons for larger orbital tolerances that SpaceX identifies—effects of solar radiation on the orbits of spacecraft—is less pronounced for the particular orbital shells authorized by this grant than for lower altitudes. We will follow the approach of the SpaceX Third Modification Order,311 and require SpaceX to restrict its Gen2 Starlink operations to below 580 km. We condition this authorization accordingly. However, this action is without prejudice to any determination we may make with respect to requirements such as orbital separation or coordination for large constellations as is currently under consideration in a separate rule making proceeding.

    • foota 482 days ago
      TIL "The drag force on satellites increases during times when the Sun is active. When the Sun adds extra energy the atmosphere the low density layers of air at LEO altitudes rise and are replaced by higher density layers that were previously at lower altitudes. As a result, the spacecraft now flies through the higher density layer and experiences a stronger drag force. When the Sun is quiet, satellites in LEO have to boost their orbits about four times per year to make up for atmospheric drag. When solar activity is at its greatest over the 11-year solar cycle, satellites may have to be maneuvered every 2-3 weeks to maintain their orbit [1]."
    • AtlasBarfed 481 days ago
      Does anybody expect Kuiper to be economically viable?

      - they are at least five years behind Starlink in launches

      - they use ULA (or Blue Origin) to launch, I don't even follow Blue Origin anymore, are they even cheaper than ULA if they can launch? Isn't ULA 2-3x as expensive as current SpaceX launches

      - SpaceX seems well along the path of figuring out most of the ground terminal hardware

      - Starship is coming, that's AT LEAST 1/3 of the cost of current SpaceX in all likelihood?

      I saw some comments that Kuiper will have "better" satellites, but that's all on paper, and SpaceX is ALREADY in the iteration phase, once there's billions of revenue, there's no advantage Kuiper will hold.

      The only competition I can see involves nation states trying to keep a satellite infrastructure to maintain nation-state (or in the EU case federation-state) competitiveness, and Kuiper is just another US company.

      So are their objections just trying to slow down SpaceX?

      ViaSat... do they have any legit beef aside from trolling/annoying SpaceX in pettiness over making them obsolete?

      I get Bezos really likes his cowboy hat astronaut cosplay, and has Smaug's horde, but ... come on. I wish him the best and it's his money, and competition ois good