[The title
was written by my editor.]
SpaceX founder Elon Musk revealed that the company has plans to enter the
microsatellite world and said that a formal announcement of this venture is two
to three months away.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Sky-gazers
can anticipate a steady increase in microsatellites looking down on them as they
look upward at the stars. Inexpensive, low-orbiting satellites are already
hovering overhead, snapping photos of the Earth’s surface and enabling
communications. These microsatellites ought not be confused with the biological
microsatellites, which are short tandem repeats in DNA. SpaceX is definitely
not confusing the two as founder Elon Musk announcedt via Twitter this week
that the company will throw its hat into the microsatellite ring.
Even
though Musk said an official announcement was still months away, considerable
speculation on the nature of the SpaceX microsatellite foray is pointing in the
direction of high-speed, satellite-based internet for areas where fiber
networks are lacking. A report last week
revealed that SpaceX is partnering with WorldVu Satellites, Ltd, a company
founded by Greg Wyler, who also created the high-speed internet satellite
company called O3b Networks. Wyler left O3b for Google to help with
satellite-based internet but has since departed from Google as well.
WorldVu
possesses the rights to the right spectrum for satellite internet until the end
of this decade so it makes sense that a partnership with SpaceX would form an
effort to position a large network of internet satellites in orbit. However,
other applications of microsatellites include Earth-based imaging and small
space telescopes for identifying asteroids for mining. Some speculate that
WorldVu wants to launch satellites into orbit with SpaceX rockets, which would
save time over waiting for a new venture to develop a dedicated launch vehicle.
No comments:
Post a Comment