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SpaceX to launch thousands of its own broadband satellites starting in 2019


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For RVrs this is exciting news. Soon, we will be able to throw away all the fancy antennas and Sat dishes, amplifiers and gadgets to receive broadband and likely cell phone voice traffic as well. Funding is billions of individual accounts in every corner of the globe subscribed. The idea is to serve the under-served and RVrs sure qualify as that. Starting launches in 2019. Skeptics, let's remember this is MUsk, occasionally late by a few months bvut he always executes and spectacularly doing things we all agree are needed but no one before him had the ability to do.

I have been posting about this since Google announced they gave Space X $1Billion to develop mini sats to launch a globe encircling constellation of Internet satellites in late 2014 and finalizing it in January 2015 (google "Google gives Space X $1billion"). I find this ironic in view of the self serving cable lobby that has gotten restrictions on Internet providers lifted just in time for Google and Space X. I hope Space X and Google do not allow local providers to be middlemen and run the service themselves. I still depend on a monopoly Internet Cable provider with no other but dial up and old slow Geostationary INternet that is expensive as well as high latency and slow as dial up in peak hours. I give them credit for charging only 10 dollars for unlimited bandwidth and a 200mbps service for $75 a month.

Excerpt:

CAPE CANAVERAL — SpaceX on Wednesday said it plans to launch thousands of satellites on Falcon 9 rockets beginning in 2019 to establish what would one day become a global broadband internet constellation.

Patricia Cooper, SpaceX's vice president of satellite government affairs, told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that the company is aiming to launch 4,425 small satellites to low Earth orbit beginning in 2019, with full deployment expected by 2024. All would launch, in phases, on Falcon 9 rockets.

"SpaceX intends to launch the system on board our Falcon 9 rocket, leveraging significant launch cost savings afforded by the first stage reusability now demonstrated with the vehicle," Cooper told senators during the broadband infrastructure meeting.

Cooper said SpaceX intends to launch one prototype satellite by the end of this year, followed by a second in the "early months of 2018."

SpaceX's broadband ambitions face challenges in the satellite internet realm — connections have historically seen comparatively slow speeds and high latency. Cooper said taking advantage of technological advances and placing the custom-built constellation in low Earth orbit — closer to the ground to reduce latency — could mean speeds equivalent to terrestrial options for internet users.

And building out a space-based data service could bypass many of the issues facing consumers, businesses and other entities on the ground.

"In other words, the common challenges associated with sitting, digging trenches, laying fiber and dealing with property rights are materially alleviated through a space-based broadband network," Cooper said.

Senators on the committee heard that SpaceX intends to take a vertically-integrated approach to building the network, meaning it will be involved in design, development, production, launch, and ultimately operation of the constellation. The company also wants to market "different packages of data at different price points."

The complete article with much more from USA Today is here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/spacex-to-launch-thousands-of-its-own-broadband-satellites-starting-in-2019/ar-BBAJfDS?OCID=ansmsnnews11

 

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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20 minutes ago, WeBeFulltimers said:

And how are us full timers going to receive a signal from them without a dish?

These satellites will not be in geosynchronous orbits; therefore, they won't stay in specific positions in the sky.  So you won't use a dish to communicate with them.  In many respects it is a modern version of the old Iridium satellite communications system which debuted in the late 1990's.

Although this system may eventually be wonderful, by the time it is fully completed (mid to late 2020's) I most likely won't be full-timing so it's impact on me and others of my age will be minimal.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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Already here in a limited version of streaming video.... Huzlu, Netflix, DirecTV Now, Curiosity Stream, History Stream.....I've been using streaming services all over USA since January and couldn't be happier. T-mobile Hot Spot for $30 a month and AT&T Mosley for $20 a month and I have coverage everywhere I've traveled so far. Even out n the middle of nowhere in AZ and NM

add to low orbi satellites the telephone pole nodes that AT&T are deploying in my city as we speak and high speed, broadband is here....

RoyB

South of Boston

2021 Dodge 2500 - 6.4L

Forest River 19RR Toy Hauler

Roofnest Falcon Rooftop Tent

www.rvbprecision.com

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Joel,

I was thinking the same thing when I read about autonomous vehicles. I think we'll both see them. These satellites have been in the works two years now, maybe quicker than you think. I was thinking how nice it would have been while we were fulltiming to have that service. We didn't have cell phones and strapped an analog modem to pay phones. hardly ever worked because of background noise. talk about a game changer. Iridium suffers from too few old tech satellites and ground stations.

Musk is talking 4k sats not 50.

 

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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23 hours ago, WeBeFulltimers said:

And how are us full timers going to receive a signal from them without a dish?

From the proposals I've seen, LEO satellite Internet connections won't require antennas much different from the multi-directional external cell phone or Sirius/XM radio antennas in use today.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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Dutch I think they are close enough, and the solar array battery arrays are advanced enough to use more power, thus I believe they will work fine with internal antennas like cell phones use. I sure hope they have access to, or deals made for, some of the low freq white space Recently made available in an FCC auction.

If external antennas are needed I would have no issue with a repeater/outside antenna system for my home and car Internet. MY Verizon Moto Z droid PLay uses WiFi for calls here at home, and for all data at home, so very little of the 2GB data/month plan we bought, which is the smallest data plan they had.

We do use between 400 and 600GB a month of Internet and pay $76 for that @200mbps and unlimited Internet, no cap or slowing down.

As of today for four days usage in this billing cycle:

You have used: 43.8 GB

For billing cycle: 05/03/2017 - 06/02/2017

Data usage is as of 05/06/2017 at 11:59 PM

generatemonthlychart.thumb.png.15f0dda927274a3215c1d2e1ba5b8408.png

I envision RVs with a tiny antenna on the roof having bills like this, or less, but instead of 200mbps GigaBit with GB download speeds and the same upload speeds (Synchronous)

The older members here may remember in 2000, just before we started to see the Motosat and Echostar systems coming out, my posts here about the Teledesic service Bill Gates was trying to do and fizzled out in 2002 because of excessive launch costs per satellite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teledesic

Then a couple of years later I started writing about Tesla and Elon Musk. I knew it was only a matter of time for the Tesla car to be produced despite the naysayers here and in RW. However, this time I expect it to be a go from 2003 to 2008 when the Roadster came out in the middle of the great recession and not only not fail like GM, but thrive. Musk has his fans like me, and his detractors who want to see him fail? Even if they buy ICE vehicles (ICE = Internal Combustion Engines) until the day they die I have difficulty understanding people who wish others to fail just to win be right.

But no one disputes that Musk executes. He may be late, he may change designs, he may get sidetracked with an idea to go under traffic rather than sit in it, but on time or six months late he always delivers more than we expected. Today folks worry about being slowed down after 20 GB or 10GB of fast service. Today, as you can see by my usage of 400-500GB a month, that another wheel has turned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_satellite_constellation#History

 

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Derek, I don't doubt at all that Musk will pull this off, just he has everything else he sets his mind to. We don't use anywhere near as much data as you do even with frequent TV program/movie streaming, so our current $60/mo 250GB/home phone AT&T plan has been more than adequate for our needs so far. And now we've added the AT&T Connected Car $20 unlimited plan to the mix, so we should be in really good shape while we wait for LEO Internet to become reality. I'm 74 though, so I can only hope I live long enough to see it fully implemented.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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On 5/7/2017 at 9:40 PM, Dutch_12078 said:

Derek, I don't doubt at all that Musk will pull this off, just he has everything else he sets his mind to. We don't use anywhere near as much data as you do even with frequent TV program/movie streaming, so our current $60/mo 250GB/home phone AT&T plan has been more than adequate for our needs so far. And now we've added the AT&T Connected Car $20 unlimited plan to the mix, so we should be in really good shape while we wait for LEO Internet to become reality. I'm 74 though, so I can only hope I live long enough to see it fully implemented.

Dutch I think so too. However, if you go to the link I gave above you will find this information:

" In March 2017, Space X filed with the FCC plans to field a constellation of more than 7500 "V-band satellites in non-geosynchronous orbits to provide communications services" in an electromagnetic spectrum that has not previously been "heavily employed for commercial communications services." Called the "V-band low-Earth orbit (VLEO) constellation," it would consist of "7,518 satellites to follow the [earlier] proposed 4,425 satellites that would function in Ka- and Ku-band.[13] Space X plans to launch test satellites of the type in both 2017 and 2018, and as of May 2017, begin launching the operational constellation sats in 2019. Full build-out of the constellation is not expected to be completed until 2024, at which time there are expected to be "4,425 satellites into orbit around the Earth, operating in 83 planes, at fairly low altitudes of between 1,110 kilometers and 1,325 kilometers."[14] "

So you can see that if you are around in 2019, you may see the operational fleet begun. This year is all testing. You will also see in that Wiki that there are two other competitors for this. I said "may see" because Musk is always planning as if everyone will be as fast as him on the uptake. This is not ego as him under promising and over delivering would make him look better, then he would be factoring in others not being able to keep up with him. But as you acknowledged, once he announces it he has the concept outline and how to get it going done.

One positive sign that he will prevail regardless is his single minded focus on starting a Mars colony as a concept until he gets there. The logistics and craft he has in the planning, simulation, and much is already in prototype development/builds.

Also my usage involves all day listening to news on CNN, Bloomberg, Newsy, and others as well as streaming at least a couple of hours after the local news for me to indulge in a movie or binge watching a few episodes of the many free series in my services.

I don't have AT&T or I would be trying get the unlimited Internet for my vehicle too as 20 bucks a month is good enough for me. I would use it primarily to stream music while driving as my hands free is independent of my radio if I use its own speakers. I do have my 100GB on my micro SD cards of music. My wife refuses to let me custom make her a music SD card for her MotoZ Droid Play because she is really into her Sirius I think it is, satellite music service that her car came equipped with.

Bear in mind I have a smart home started with several devices and a command node on my WiFi directly. As well, we have video real time surveillance with a Ring Doorbell, two Ring Stick - Up cameras, and the ring chime which has two sounds, one for motion, and a regular ding dong for doorbell button presses. They are exceptional and battery powered except the Chime which plugs in anywhere. I have to charge them about once every couple of months with the same micro USB chargers I use for all my other devices.

Before they came out we bought a D-Link inside security cam that does need to be plugged in. It is the full HD one that can swivel up and down, right and left from our computers or phones. IT also can be used to talk to anyone in range of the camera, and records to micro SD card with auto looping. I put a 64GB card in it so if we do need evidential footage for whatever reason, I can pull the card and save it to my main computer.

Had Netgear also served Windows 10 phone users we would have bought their Nest system but in hindsight I like the Ring system much better. Netgear used to be my favorite but they have fallen behind the times refusing to go HTML5 and sticking with Flash, and no Windows phone, soon to be surface phone support. D Link and Ring both have Windows phone Apps which I appreciate. And Linksys which used to be Cisco, was sold to Belkin! Belkin was my least favorite and my current Linksys/Belkin hybrid may be my last. D-LInk had security issues last year and may still have them. I am wondering if any more mobiley devices can be had for 80- bucks. I will check in my local Best Buy as they are not big sellers of latest tech. If all I have to pay is for the data and no setup fee for joining AT&T with only the device for unlimited in my vehicles that would be a real trip too.

Anyway when you factor in our four surveillance cams with speakers and microphones on each so I can talk live with delivery guys and those up to no good, and our smart home hub, and then our streaming, it gets up there.

See we have Netflix 4k, Amazon Prime, and Sling TV Blue with all the cable and news channels we wanted. And we are allowed to stream those on any three devices simultaneously. I can have the app on all our phones and the Car too if we had the Mobiley. Could come in handy if an event happened and we were not close to home to watch it on our TVs, we could watch remotely with that Mobiley.

So you see when we cut the cable we now pay only $35 a months for much more with Netflix and Sling.

I don't factor in Amazon Prime although we have three full size "Fire TVs," two 4k versions with the hardware and software one on each video system including my Dell 2720 which has both HDMI in and out, so it is a third 4k streaming TV screen, as well as two Echo dots for Alexa in the bedroom and kitchen. As well we replaced our two Kindles with one new Kindle 8" HD for me, and Lynn uses a 7" Fire HDX tablet. I was using the other Fire HDX 7" tablet with 64GB storage, as well as a Fire 8.9" HDX with 32 GB and a OtterBox defender case along with the Amazon Origami case. I love the Mayday instant video help on the HDXs and their Retina high resolution HD screens. But they have no micro SD card slots, like Apple iPads and phones so out they go. My wife, who uses no storage on any of her devices except a few games, will keep her 16GB 7"HDX she says today. But the new Fire 8"HD (720p) I now use is acceptable resolution for my eyes. Much lighter, does more, and goes on sale for $69.99 regularlyI use it bedside for my kindle. In the LR I alternate between my Surface Pro 3 Tablet, and the ASUS newest hybrid 10.1" tablet and keyboard that when used as a tablet is the lightest one of the bunch. The old T100 low resolution and weight are gone in this iteration of that venerable market disruptive tablet/tiny laptop. http://www.ebay.com/itm/132076834907?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

My wife still has her Dell Venue 11 Pro, and I sold all laptops and non all in one desktops except for the toy Voyo mini PC that is still chugging along at 18 months old or so in the spare bedroom hooked up to the TV there.

So you can see that I use 6-8 times the data just to do monthly Windows updates as the norm. I do have a TV tuner on my Main computer too and it is connected to the built in TV wall outlet that is amplified and hooked up to a roof top HD antenna from Channel master. So add all the local news and network shows we watch to our streaming capabilities and we have more content to choose from but pay less than we did for cable. Unlimited Internet here only cost ten bucks more. Netflix is also on all our devices including on the Amazon Fore TVs which makes any Alexa search effective across all the content we have save the cable channels on the Sling.

So you can see where the population is going too. Unlimited Internet is going to be the norm at GB speeds. almost no one except some older country folks have only cell service anyway. I wonder how long it will take the telcos to wake up this time. At one point all the Internet was dial up. Then it went to cable. and the Telcos were too busy with expanding the cell services and devices. I think both the Cable and Telcos are going out with a whimper soon. Look to the sky.

BTW some guides for Sling are out. You can see what is on each color Sling Yellow or Blue. If you want ESPN you want the cheaper one as Blue has no ESPN.

http://streamingtvguides.com/Preferences/0cedc1e8-c1d2-4d93-84df-02d91b4e9eb4

And our local lineup over the air:

http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?method=decideFwdForLineup&zipcode=71067&setMyPreference=false&lineupId=PC:71067&aid=zap2it

Both are setup for my time zone and my content.

Sorry just was avoiding some plumbing upgrades. Gotta go put the Bidet in.:o

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Vladmir

On 5/7/2017 at 9:58 PM, Vladimir said:

In a astronomy forum the number of satellites was mentioned as 4,425. There is concern about the sheer number of satellites and their impact on other orbiting objects. 

Best guesses were 2023 for initial launch.

Vlad,

Check out the Wiki I liked to above. Do you have a source for that other info? There are three services going up in addition to iridium.  2019 seems consistent to all.

Gotta run, today's Windows update is critical and I need to pass it along in the computer forum.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Hi Roy,

Yes I'd heard about that but not recently. Here is a search result and the last I can find is from 2015.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=virgin+747+rocket+launcher&pc=MOZI&form=MOZLBR

If one owns an Airline and can re-purpose older 747 that would be one way to go.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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On 5/9/2017 at 1:02 PM, RV_ said:

Vladmir

Vlad,

Check out the Wiki I liked to above. Do you have a source for that other info? There are three services going up in addition to iridium.  2019 seems consistent to all.

Gotta run, today's Windows update is critical and I need to pass it along in the computer forum.

No...it was a discussion forum.

Some of those guys work in the industry so it was THEIR best guesses based on past performance. There have been lots of discussion of the number of things orbiting in space. Not sure how this proposal would affect current satellites. But the US government has been concerned about the number of things floating around in space....there have been proposals to "clean" up space.

Looking up at night. There are an amazing number of satellites in low earth orbit. 

I don't know who is right on the date. Just throwing it out that it might be later than people think.

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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Hey Dutch! LOL! no I don't think our "stuff" will fit in anything under our new small size house which is 1800 sf because we don't want to heat, cool, or maintain anything bigger. And we have, as all homo-sapiens do, filled all available storage including a 24X30 workshop on a slab, and a 24X30 finished out wired heated and cooled portable building. When we came off the road from fulltiming in 2003 we took back our antique furniture, wall art/pictures, home movies and family pics, and all her Hummels and crystal, grandmother's clock, deacons bench, 1700s English oak Secretary with stained glass hutch, and my collections of CDs, Vinyl collectors albums,  etc. that our kids and parents now passed were keeping for us.

 

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Actually Derek has helped me quite a bit my listing all of his arsenal... I can point to his 'stuff' and say 'See Dear, I'm not that bad:)!'...

(Yeah, of course kidding you sir...)

Smitty

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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It works for me! I point to her brother who is a tournament fisherman and an avid hunter. The most I spend on my techno hobby was about $5k in a year, once or twice. He has a $30k boat, 4WD truck, Yamaha Mule, pistols, revolvers, shotguns and rifles, pays for all the licenses, and $1500 a year for his shared deer lease. the most I've ever spent on any one computer was $999.99 for a refurbished Dell 2720 at more than half off.

The workshop has her compressor, nail and brad guns, Rigid contractors table saw, Dewalt Comp. Miter saw, a 6' & 12' folding ladders and all the hoses etc. She takes up half my shop!

Boy are we fixin to have some Estate and yard sales this year!

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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