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SpaceX is looking to connect its satellite Internet service, Starlink, to moving vehicles, ships and aircraft, according to a new filing with the Federal Communications Commission.
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The aerospace company’s application, filed Friday, is for a “global license to operate” Starlink user terminals, known as earth stations in motion (ESIM). The new app is much broader than the authorization SpaceX previously requested from the FCC. Last year, the company sought to conduct experimental tests for a period of up to two years on five user terminals mounted on a private Gulfstream jet and 10 terminals on up to 10 ships, including two autonomous space drones. used to land rocket boosters at sea.
SpaceX’s ESIMs are “electrically identical to its previously authorized consumer user terminals,” but have brackets that allow them to be installed on vehicles, ships and aircraft. The new terminals will communicate with SpaceX satellites visible on the horizon above a minimum elevation angle of 25 degrees. Unlike current Starlink user terminals, which are installed by the customer, ESIMs will be configured by “qualified installers”.
The filing adds that the request “would serve the public interest by authorizing a new class of ground-based components for SpaceX’s satellite system, which would expand the range of broadband capabilities available to moving vehicles across the United States and for moving ships and aircraft around the world, “David Goldman, SpaceX’s director of satellite policy, wrote
The era of “giving up connectivity on the go, whether it’s driving a truck across the country, moving cargo from Europe to a US port, or on a domestic or international flight,” could coming to an end, Goldman added.
Beyond constant connectivity, Goldman noted that this new plan could “improve the security of mobile platforms” and “allow operators and passengers to access services enabling increased productivity.”
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk clarified in a tweet Monday that small passenger vehicles would not be included under the license.
“Don’t connect Tesla cars to Starlink because our terminal is way too big,” Musk said. “It’s for airplanes, ships, large trucks, and recreational vehicles.”
Despite his downplaying of the link between Starlink and Tesla vehicles, Musk said on a January 2020 earnings call that “this is definitely something that could happen in the years to come.”
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Starlink has launched more than 1,000 satellites into orbit and has more than 10,000 users in the United States and abroad since launching its “Better Than Nothing” beta nationally and internationally in October.
Photo courtesy of Starlink
Pre-orders for the Starlink service became available in February for $ 99. The company’s website points out that pre-orders are “fully refundable,” but notes that “placing a deposit does not guarantee service.” Pre-orders will be processed on a first come, first served basis. For some locations shown on the website, SpaceX says coverage will not be available until “mid to late 2021,” while other regions will not have service available until 2022.
The full Starlink kit costs $ 499 and includes a mountable satellite dish, Wi-Fi router, and power supply. The service will initially be offered in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Musk announced last month that Starlink’s internet speeds would double to around 300 megabits per second later this year, while latency – the time it takes to send data from one point to the next – will drop to around 20. milliseconds.
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Musk said in February that Starlink could potentially launch an initial public offering once SpaceX could “predict cash flow reasonably well.”
“SpaceX must cross a deep chasm of negative cash flow over the next year to make Starlink financially viable. Every new satellite constellation in history has gone bankrupt. We hope to be the first not to do so,” Musk said. “Starlink is an extremely difficult technical and economic endeavor. However, if we do not fail, the cost to end users will improve every year.”
SpaceX recently completed an $ 850 million round of funding at around $ 419.99 per share, skyrocketing the aerospace company’s valuation from about 60% to around $ 74 billion, according to reports. The company previously raised $ 1.9 billion to a value of $ 46 billion in August, its largest round of funding to date.
SpaceX will launch its last batch of 60 Starlink satellites on Tuesday evening from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida. A live broadcast will begin 15 minutes before take-off, currently scheduled for 9:58 p.m. EST.
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