Boeing swipes at Starlink as it finishes two internet slinging satellites
- Reference: 1670311990
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/12/06/boeing_ses_internet_sats/
- Source link:
The spacecraft are scheduled for launch into a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of about 5,000 miles (8,000km) next month.
Once in orbit, the satellites "will provide low-latency, high-throughput connectivity to users around the world," [1]said Boeing. The satellites will do this using 5,000 steerable beams in each bird.
[2]
SES chief technology officer Ruy Pinto explained the satellites would provide connectivity to government and businesses in remote regions – areas often devoid of such services.
[3]
[4]
"In times of natural disasters, when networks are disrupted, O3b mPOWER's low-latency services can quickly restore critical communications networks," added Pinto.
The satellites will also have the ability to be redirected so they won't be locked to a particular customer.
[5]
"Instead of relying on fewer, larger, fixed beams or a proliferated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation covering vast regions – systems that struggle to fulfil high-density demand – the software-driven O3b mPOWER system is equipped with shapeable beams that can be repositioned based on real-time data from SES customers' terminals, delivering a superior end-user experience," said Boeing.
That's a swipe at SpaceX's controversial Starlink satellite broadband constellation, and Amazon's planned rival called "Project Kuiper". Both require thousands of satellites, irking astronomers and creating an orbital hazard that other satellite operators must navigate.
Low Earth Orbit sats have proliferated, to the point at which the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said in September it is "no longer sustainable to leave satellites in LEO to deorbit over decades." The agency [6]wants to require space operators to pull their equipment from orbit after five years of residency. Previous rules allowed for 25 years.
[7]
Predictably, SES and other operators have [8]pushed back.
[9]FCC floats 'five-year rule' for hoovering up space junk
[10]FCC gives SpaceX OK to launch 7.5k Gen2 Starlink satellites
[11]UK to test Starlink satellite broadband for those hard to reach areas
[12]Satellite operators want option to exceed deorbiting rules
Satellites in MEOs experience other challenges – like increased exposure to radiation. And for this reason, these O3b mPOWER satellites are equipped with toughened custom designed solar arrays. Other features are Boeing's 702X software-defined payload that includes those 5,000 beams per satellite. The full constellation will include multi-terabit capacity and electronically steered phased-array antennas.
According to the aerospace giant, the remaining nine satellites SES contracted it to make are still being built, tested, or integrated. When ready, they can be launched in pairs or groups of three. Two additional launches are planned for the first quarter of 2023, and the service is slated to be available months later in the third quarter. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=131182
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y48g1d5CO-AWh3xtoA-F5wAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y48g1d5CO-AWh3xtoA-F5wAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y48g1d5CO-AWh3xtoA-F5wAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y48g1d5CO-AWh3xtoA-F5wAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/09/fcc_space_junk/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y48g1d5CO-AWh3xtoA-F5wAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/22/satellite_deorbiting_waivers/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/09/fcc_space_junk/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/02/fcc_gives_spacex_ok/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/01/uk_starlink_testing/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/22/satellite_deorbiting_waivers/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
It's lonely up there in MEO...
To spread the launch cost over more birds. Not rocket science just simple accounting
BvB
It’s the (fixed) size of the selected launcher divided by the size and mass of each satellite. Most (not all) launches contain two satellites sometimes of different owners - it’s a bit more cost-optimal to develop larger launchers and share, but does cause problems when one satellite owner has to wait due to a production hitch on the other
At least one is a sacrifice or a gift for aliens. You can't simply launch one - it's disrespectful.
"Having a swipe at SpaceX"
Apples and oranges though.
Lose one satellite and Starlink can compensate and/or launch more cheap boxes. If SES lose one they lose the entire "constellation" of 5000 beams and it is both difficult and expensive to replace it but, arguably, they are less likely to lose a satellite.
I would assume you'll need a much bigger dish for MEO too - so no roaming. It will be interesting to see what the beam footprints are and whether there's overlap to preserve "reasonable" signal strength across the entire coverage area eg Europe or whether it's designed for higher bandwidth, specific targets - Paris, Amsterdam, Skegness ...
Re: "Having a swipe at SpaceX"
"Roaming" is perfectly feasible with redirectable beams. Just because it isn't as convenient to move the dish doesn't mean you can't .
Re: "Having a swipe at SpaceX"
Besides, the satellites are in MEO which means they are constantly in motion relative to the Earth. So any terminal is going to "roam" from beam to beam and satellite to satellite.
Re: "Having a swipe at SpaceX"
Hopefully all those new bandwidth hungry datacentres and killer droids C&C killer Centers in Skegness, will soon have all they can eat and stop interfering with home broadband.
Re: "Having a swipe at SpaceX"
They are launching in-orbit spares, so if they do loose a complete satellite (something that happens, but not often) then they can rejig the constellation to cover the gap.
You don't necessarily need a bigger dish on the ground terminal - depends on how they have closed the link budget. Most likely they put a bigger dish on the satellite with a huge gain; entirely feasible given modern antenna structure technology (look at the size of the antennas that the likes of Intelsat and Inmarsat are using on their current-generation GEO satellites).
I personally worked on an experimental terminal that used an antenna that was only about 60 mm high and weighed in at about 30 g. We used this to transmit terminal-to-terminal over GEO, passing IP packets back and forth, albeit at low data rates.
Err....
Is this the same bunch whose excellence in software development made planes fall out of the sky? I'll stick with the mad bloke for the mo.
Why would they have to be launched in "...pairs, or groups of threes?"