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The wave ahead: several satellite broadband projects are under development
SpaceX began deploying its broadband system in orbit.
A Falcon-9 rocket was launched last Thursday in Cape Canaveral, Florida, with 60 satellites capable of providing ground users with high-speed Internet connections.
The company of entrepreneur Elon Musk aims to equip its "Starlink" network with nearly 12,000 satellites.
SpaceX is one of many commercial companies licensed to fly a mega-constellation Internet.
The UK-based start-up OneWeb began its deployment in February with six operational spacecraft.
The online retailer Amazon also has ambitions in this market. He is working on a proposal for 3,200 satellites called Project Kuiper.
All concepts consider flying a spacecraft in a low Earth orbit, less than 2,000 km above the planet. This will minimize the delay or latency of Internet connections.
The Falcon took off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Base at 22:30 local time (2:30 GMT Friday).
The deployment of the Starlink satellites was to begin a little over an hour after the flight started.
What do we know about the Internet project?
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SpaceX
The flat pack satellites shown in the Falcon-9 rocket payload fairing
SpaceX has kept much of the development activity behind its multi-billion dollar broadband plan.
The company launched two technology demonstrators, Tintin-A and Tintin-B, in February 2018, but the spacecraft that was set up Thursday is very different.
Photographed by Mr Musk in a tweet earlier this month, these last platforms seemed to have a "flat" design.
And during a meeting with reporters on May 15, the CEO gave additional information.
Each satellite weighs 227 kg, has several high-speed antennas and a single solar panel.
The platforms are also equipped with electric propulsion – a system that expels electrically charged krypton atoms to provide thrust.
The engine is needed to lift a Starlink from its 440 km deposition altitude to its operational height of 550 km.
The propulsion system will also serve to maintain the correct position of the satellite in the sky and reduce it at the end of its useful life.
Mr Musk said the newly launched Starlinks were an iterative design and that the platforms would now be better specified, for example with inter-satellite links.
It's "one of the most difficult technical projects I've ever seen," he said, pointing out that many problems could occur early in the deployment.
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Reuters
Mr. Musk says that Starlink was one of his most difficult projects
Is there room up there for all these satellites?
There is growing concern about the number of satellites that could be launched over the next few years – for many purposes, not just the provision of broadband – and how this could potentially clog up the future. 39, space environment.
To put in context what is about to happen – there are only 2,000 operational satellites in orbit today, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists database. SpaceX's ambitions alone, if fully realized, could negate this population.
The great fear is that congested orbital highways result in collisions and the production of debris that then initiate new destructive encounters.
SpaceX has said it wants to become a responsible actor and give its satellites the ability to locate orbital debris by themselves and avoid them autonomously.
What's more, all Starlinks links were 95% manufactured from components that could burn quickly when they return to the atmosphere once they are decommissioned, exceeding all applicable safety standards. .
It will take some time before SpaceX can actually offer Internet connections.
For this, he must launch much more than the 60 satellites Falcon Thursday.
Another six rocket flights will have to take place before a minor broadband coverage is reached. A dozen launches are needed for moderate coverage, says Musk.
He hopes that revenues from the telecommunications network will be able to finance some of his other ideas: "We believe that this is an essential springboard for the establishment of an autonomous city on Mars and a base for Moon".
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