Posted on 11/11/2019 8:05:47 AM PST by Moonman62
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX's plans to bring global internet coverage to the world just took another leap forward as its 9th Falcon 9 rocket flight of the year launched 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit Monday (Nov. 11).
The satellites rode into space atop a veteran Falcon 9 first stage, ending a nearly three-month launch hiatus for the company. The last time a SpaceX Falcon 9 took to the skies, was on Aug. 6, when the company’s flagship rocket carried the Israeli AMOS-17 communications satellite into space.
The sooty Falcon roared to life at 9:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT), lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here in Florida, marking the fourth flight for this particular booster, and the first time a Falcon 9 has flown more than three times.
"The Falcon has landed for the fourth time," SpaceX Starlink engineer Lauren Lyons, said during launch commentary. "These boosters are designed to be used 10 times. Let's turn it around for a fifth, guys."
The launch occurred on Veterans Day, a U.S. holiday commemorating military veterans, and SpaceX dedicated the flight to service members. "Liftoff! With gratitude to our veterans today and always," a SpaceX commentator said. "Go, U.S.A.!"
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Starlink will not work directly with a handset. It requires an antenna the size of a pizza box.
The military has already tested Starlink with aircraft and it worked.
The really disruptive weapons tech going forward:
The synergy between small drones and LEO satelites.
With very low latency, the controller of the sat trying to, say, knock off Saddam, could be in a LV trailer, sitting on top of Everest, tooling around on a yacht in the Carribbean, etc.
I think the US military is heavily, heavily involved, here and that is who the very early, heavy user is gonig to be.
I think that’s why Russia and China are going to want their own, equally saturative systems, totally apart from ours.
Yes, that's right, thank you.
WOW, sooo many amazing biz opportunities, here.
We're at the stage when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, or ealier, maybe.
As someone that grew up with 1950s SciFi I am very pleased to see how the rocket returns to earth and lands upright (which is the way it was done in early movies).
Sometimes one has to come from elsewhere to appreciate most what we have here. I know several South Africans who immigrated and became citizens...they TRULY appreciate this country and all it is and does (and none of them has EVER drawn a dole check).
We are moving into a new age.
I can't help but think that Musk's technology stealth motive might be solar power satellites. He will have two of the three parts already in hand..utility scale storage production and satellite reusable heavy lift capability.
Jerry Pournelle campaigned for SPS's for decades, saying it was the only way that global solar could be economical.
I mean it seems a common Marine with nothing more than an encrypted handset could call for evac, hire-support, etc., no fancy radios involved.
I think that’s why the license was upped from 7,000 to a mind-blowing 42,000 satellites...
It also greatly reduces the threat of anti-satellite weapons. If we are relying on only a few large comm satellites, they can be knocked out by a few weapons.
With 42,000 and internet architecture, even taking out 1000 will not seriously degrade the system.
Now imagine what happens if we intersperse some imaging satellites on the later ones. No where to hide.
SKY MICROWAVE OVEN
Hold your hamburger to the sky when you want it warmed up.
Which is how the US has always done tech. It works!
agree 101%
OneWeb will be a direct competitor to StarLink. Whole lotta new satellites entering orbit.
Technology will improve. In the meanwhile, giving vehicles, aircraft, and ships easy worldwide communications capability would seem a huge benefit.
Most people don’t realize that much of the Blackhawk Down agony was, weirdly, a SPACE problem:
The rescue convoy driving directions around Mogadishu were given in real-time by orbiting chopper, but owing to radio incompatibility had to go:
1. Mogadishu chopper
2. Couple other hops to...
3. Florida AFB
4. Couple other hops back to...
5. Mogadishu truck/humvee driver
This meant that EVERY turn direction arrived AFTER the convoy had passed where they needed to turn.
During a dire emergency.
With the whole city trying to kill them.
It was inevitable they would take 100 wrong turns, which they did.
Not only will THAT soon go away, but a remotedly piloted drone will be able to evade ground-fire, and I mean with rapid, erratic course corrections, all from that same controller on the other side of Earth.
Evvvveryone knows about remote piloting already, of course, and they long have. But mostly for spying on the strategic side.
This dramatically lowered latency means that this all gets mmuuuuuuuch more tactical, now.
This could even have very scary policing & political surveillance applications.
In another ten years NASA is going to look a complete joke competing with thr private sector
They already do look like a joke.
But hey, at least it’s not a bunch of White men running it now...
By compairison it will make the USPS/UPS discrepancy seem like NOTHING.
It might be more something like average Little League players from your local town compared to pro Penant winners.
Honest historians (admittedly not most of them) will point out that when space was dominated by government, it languished.
The sooty Falcon roared to life at 9:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT), lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here in Florida, marking the fourth flight for this particular booster, and the first time a Falcon 9 has flown more than three times. "The Falcon has landed for the fourth time," SpaceX Starlink engineer Lauren Lyons, said during launch commentary.
And that's how you do that. Thanks Moonman62.
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