SpaceX will give Starlink launch another go after weekend abort

SpaceX is set to give the launch of its latest batch of Starlink broadband satellites another go after aborting a weekend attempt.

The 16th batch of Starlink satellites was scheduled to launch at 9:56pm EST on Sunday with the 45th Space Wing forecasting the weather to be 70 percent a “go”. Unfortunately, the SpaceX team was forced to call it off.

"Hold, hold, hold," SpaceX's launch director said in a live audio webcast just 30 minutes from launch. "We're standing...

23 November 2020 | Telecoms

Starlink satellites can provide ‘far more robust’ navigation than GPS

Starlink's satellites can be updated to provide navigation which is more accurate and less prone to interference than GPS.

The findings have been published in a non-peer-reviewed paper on preprint repository arXiv by Todd Humphreys and Peter Iannucci at the Radionavigation Laboratory at The University of Texas.

Humphreys and Iannucci propose a new system that harnesses Starlink's rapidly-growing constellation of satellites to provide “far more robust”...

28 September 2020 | Operators

FCC greenlights Amazon’s Kuiper 3,236 satellite broadband constellation

The FCC has greenlit Amazon's plans to deploy a constellation of 3,236 broadband satellites into the night sky.

Amazon is calling its project Kuiper (named after the belt in the outer solar system which extends from the orbit of Neptune at 30 AU, to approximately 50 AU from the Sun.)

“We have heard so many stories lately about people who are unable to do their job or complete schoolwork because they don’t have reliable internet at home,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice...

31 July 2020 | Legislation & Government

SpaceX prepares for Starlink beta, images leak of antennas

SpaceX is preparing for a beta of its Starlink satellite broadband service and Reddit users have leaked further details and images.

Some users who subscribed to be kept posted about testing SpaceX’s broadband service received the following email this week:

The email is very clear that Starlink is collecting addresses to begin recruiting testers for its anticipated satellite service. What we don’t yet know is what countries will be involved in initial tests and...

16 July 2020 | Networks

Elon Musk: SpaceX’s internet service will go live in around six months

SpaceX founder Elon Musk says he expects the company's satellites to be delivering internet connectivity in around six months.

A private beta of the service is expected in around three months. The public beta, in around six months, will start with high latitude satellites.

SpaceX first launched its operational high latitude satellites in May 2019. The high latitude means connectivity may be intermittent and speeds will be relatively slow.

Last year, the company...

24 April 2020 | Rural Telecoms