The unfortunate Elon Musk continues to embark on slowing progress in satellite broadband

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently "laid off at least seven" managers to speed up the development and testing of satellites that could provide broadband worldwide, reported today. Reuters agency.

SpaceX has received authorization from the Federal Communications Commission to launch 4,425 satellites in low Earth orbit between 2019 and 2027 in order to compete with cable and fiber optic Internet service providers and bring the top flow in unserved or underserved areas. SpaceX is also seeking FCC approval for 7,518 additional satellites. The goal of SpaceX "to have an Internet service available in 2020 is" pretty much entirely objective "with an initial satellite launch in mid-2019," said one of the Reuters sources.

But Musk apparently concluded that the continuation of the Starlink project within the prescribed time period required a reorganization of management. In June, Musk traveled to the Seattle area for meetings with engineers responsible for the satellite project, Reuters reported:

A few hours after landing, Musk had fired at least seven members of the program's management team in the Redmond, Washington office, culminating in disagreements over the pace at which the team was developing and testing its Starlink satellites, according to both SpaceX. employees with direct knowledge of the situation.

Recognized for postponing deadlines, Mr. Musk quickly brought in new directors from SpaceX headquarters in California to replace some of his fired directors. Their mandate is to launch SpaceX's first series of satellites in the United States by the middle of next year, the sources said.

Musk wanted "cheaper and simpler satellites"

Among the dismissed employees were Rajeev Badyal, vice president of satellites for SpaceX, and renowned designer Mark Krebs, wrote Reuters. "Rajeev wanted three more test satellite iterations," said one of the sources cited by Reuters. "Elon thinks we can do the job with cheaper and simpler satellites earlier."

Reuters described a cultural conflict between Musk and employees hired by Microsoft, "where workers were more accustomed to longer development times than Musk's infamous deadlines." Badyal is a former Microsoft employee, while Krebs previously worked for Google. "Kim Schulze, who was previously responsible for development at Microsoft, also left SpaceX," writes Reuters.

Reuters wrote that SpaceX "was struggling to recruit and retain staff" for the Starlink project, about 300 SpaceX employees currently working on Starlink. In January 2015, Musk said Redmond 's satellite project office would have "several hundred people, perhaps 1,000 people" in the next three or four years.

When Ars contacted Ars, SpaceX provided this statement:

The SpaceX Redmond office is a critical part of the company's efforts to create a next-generation satellite network that connects the world with reliable and affordable broadband for those who have never been connected before. . Given the success of our recent Starlink demonstration satellites, we have incorporated lessons learned and reorganized to allow for the next design iteration. This is a very similar approach to rapid iteration in design and testing that has led to the success of Falcon 1, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon.

SpaceX launched two demonstration satellites in February.

FCC will vote on another SpaceX application

SpaceX's first series of satellites is expected to orbit at altitudes of 1,110 to 1,325 kilometers, far less than traditional broadband satellites. The existing HughesNet satellite network has an altitude of approximately 35,400 km, which represents a much longer round-trip time than that of the ground networks.

As we wrote previously, SpaceX announced that it would offer speeds of up to one gigabit per second, with latencies between 25 ms and 35 ms. These latencies would make the SpaceX service comparable to cable and fiber. Current satellite broadband services use satellites in much higher orbits and therefore have a latency of 600 ms or more, as measured by the Federal Communications Commission.

In March, the FCC approved the SpaceX project to launch 4,425 satellites, subject to certain conditions. The FCC approval requires that SpaceX launch 50% of the satellites by March 2024, and all by March 2027.

At its November 15 meeting, the FCC will vote on SpaceX's request to use more frequency bands and launch an additional 7,518 satellites. SpaceX has announced that this second group of satellites will orbit at even lower altitudes to build capacity and reduce latency in densely populated areas. The FCC proposal would require SpaceX to launch 50% of these satellites within six years and the rest in three years.

The FCC has also approved requests from OneWeb, Space Norway and Telesat to offer the United States a broadband from low-orbiting satellites.