Everyone has heard that SpaceX has successfully launched the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which in particular carries two of the company's test internet satellites. In the future, Elon Musk plans to launch thousands of satellites into orbit, which will provide broadband Internet access by merging into a single Starlink network.
Personally, without going into details, I thought how good it is, now, without being tied to mobile operators, you go out into the field in the Far East (or somewhere in the savannah of Africa, or in the middle of the open ocean), take out your smartphone - and there is free high-speed Internet. You turn on the online broadcast and communicate with whoever you want. Cool! It's practically worldwide Wi-Fi.
Well, okay, "free" is of course a distant future, well, of course we will pay some kind of penny, what is really there. This is the dream of a modern man!
But in fact, everything turns out not as colorful as we would like …
Will Starlink be free?
No, it will not. In the imagination of most readers, the network operation is most likely similar to the operation of LTE networks: took out the phone, connected, ready. But this is not at all the case. Starlink devices will transmit data in the Ku- and Ka-bands - similar to telecommunications satellites, which, for example, are used by TV broadcasters.
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In any case, users will need a receiver (it will cost several hundred dollars, like a modern satellite phone, a periodic subscription fee is quite possible): you can forget about cheap Internet for poor countries. That is, the main thing to understand is that Starlink will not solve the problem of the cost of providing services. It will only facilitate access to these services.
By the way, it is rumored that Starlink receivers will be built into Tesla cars by default.
Will Starlink be fast?
If everything goes according to plan, yes. Here everything is explained simply: the higher the data transmission frequency, the higher its bandwidth. The more powerful the transmitter, the more clients it is able to serve simultaneously, although there are certain limitations here. The number of simultaneously connected subscribers is also important - the more there are, the lower the speed for everyone.
Existing geostationary telecommunication satellites provide communication services in the Ku and Ka bands (12-18 GHz and 26.5-40 GHz, respectively), usually the speed is limited to about 12 Mb / s, in some cases it can reach 100 Mb / s. You can estimate the size of the antenna required to receive such a signal by simply looking at the satellite television antennas used today. The orbital altitude of the spacecraft (~ 1100 kilometers) will cover an area of the earth's surface with a radius of about 1060 kilometers, and the promised signal delay will be about 25 milliseconds.
In March 2017, it was also reported that SpaceX is planning to supplement the constellation with vehicles operating in the V-band (from 40 to 75 GHz). Such satellites will theoretically be able to provide speeds of up to 1 GBit / s. At the same time, they will be much more overall, and the signal itself in the V range has a lower penetrating ability, although it is less dependent on weather conditions. In any case, heavy telecommunications V-satellites are likely to hit the market in the early 2020s.
Yes, and SpaceX at the moment has official permission only to launch a constellation of satellites for the Ku- and Ka-bands, numbering up to 4425 pieces. More "faster" V-band devices in the amount of 7518 pieces so far exist only on paper (in the application to the relevant US services). In addition to Elon Musk's company, Boeing, OneWeb, Telesat, O3b Networks and Theia Holdings plan to launch such systems.
How will Starlink work?
SpaceX's spacecraft will operate in orbit on the principle of a mesh network. In simple terms, each satellite will maintain a simultaneous connection with several surrounding “colleagues”, which will make it easy to “transfer” the user between satellites and keep the connection session active, without having to reconnect every time a new device flies overhead.
A similar network is used by the satellite operator Iridium (by the way, which is one of the main customers of SpaceX launches) - their global system covers 100% of the globe and allows you to provide communication to any subscribers, wherever they are. And it already works right now!
How long will it take to get Starlink into orbit?
Based on SpaceX's plans - two years. If you look at the company's capabilities more realistically - at least five years. The fact is that SpaceX physically cannot launch more than ten such vehicles at a time (their dimensions are 4 x 1.8 x 1.2 meters), therefore, the entire constellation of 4,425 satellites will require more than 400 launches. Even the first stage (called Initial deployment, for commercial readiness, only 800 devices are enough) of 1600 Starlinks, required to ensure the network operation in nominal mode, will require at least 160 launches! The obvious decision - to use the successfully tested heavy version of Falcon Heavy - will not help, because the limiting factor for the number of satellites is the size of the nose fairing, not the power of the rocket.
If SpaceX manages to reach 40 successful launches per year and the company only deals with the Starlink network (which is impossible in principle), we will see a working group in orbit no earlier than in 4 years. Thus, the full-fledged operation of the system should be expected a year by 2025.
SpaceX could try to solve the problem of the number of vehicles by raising their orbit - so each satellite will cover a large area on Earth. But this will require a recalculation of the technical characteristics and significant changes in the structure of the apparatus.
Ping (signal delay, ping) is an important characteristic for those who like to play shooters, as SpaceX assures, it will not exceed 25 ms.
If you have a cable Internet, then the ping of your major Internet services is in the region of 5-10 ms. Wi-Fi increases ping, which is why gamers opt for cable. Accordingly, 25 ms is a theoretical ping to the equipment, but there will already be 50 to your device via Wi-Fi … Naturally, it all depends on where the data centers and ground stations for receiving and transmitting information to satellites will be located. After all, somehow “the Internet should appear on the satellite”?:) It will come from ground stations. If in the USA 25ms ping is still achievable, because and the servers will be located in the same place, then in the Russian Federation, if there are no base stations in Europe or Asia, of course not. After all, a signal traveling even over a laser link through low-orbit satellites will have to travel several thousand kilometers in both directions, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to reach less than 100 ms from the United States.
Another important detail is regional content restrictions. You can often see an inscription on Youtube stating that this video is blocked from being shown in your country … Added to this is censorship on the Internet. How these problems will be solved is not yet very clear. Most likely, each country will supply its base stations and act as a real provider, while SpaceX will only act as an intermediary (but does SpaceX need this?). There is no particular problem in this, each provider will be able to install a ground station for receiving and transmitting information and calmly serve subscribers in their country, SORM will also be there. Or something concretely will change in the world, in digital rights, and finally the Internet will become free from censorship:), but I think the first option.
Will they be banned or suppressed?
The fact is that terrestrial providers will lose money when subscribers switch to the heavenly Internet. It is this reason that is central to the attempts to fight the Internet from SpaceX or OneWeb. Russia will have to create either joint ventures, or install base stations in the territory of the Russian Federation and manufacture equipment.
Who can benefit from Starlink?
Travelers. People living in sparsely populated areas of the planet. Those who do not have access to regular wired Internet. Citizens of states with active Internet censorship (at their own peril and risk). At the same time, do not forget that Starlink as a satellite operator will operate under the jurisdiction of the United States.
With all this, this will be a fairly non-budget service.
What other pros / cons do you see here?