SpaceX Launches 1st Test Satellites for Starlink Internet Constellation Along with Spain's Paz

[RV_]

Elon Musk generates fear and loathing and lots of lobbying from every industry he disrupts. First he disrupted the Vehicle industry in several ways, only the more visible Electric vehicles are well known, but Tesla also built the world's largest battery last year for stepping power control, the world's largest charging network for Tesla BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles, as opposed to PHEVs- Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, like the Volt and Prius) His Solar City division has already started installing solar roofs not panels, the energy division has perfected their relatively inexpensive Power Wall home and industry battery backups, that can replace some of the whole house backups for transient blackouts and the usual short duration ones. As well as hold solar energy or just charge from the grid.

Musk is known to be late, but also known to always execute. When there is a problem they overcome it, just like they had to crash a few rockets to finally land one. He piggybacked the tests on paid for launches, thus letting the folks who hired the launch for their satellites or ISS resupply to pay for his R&D essentially. Then trying to land the first stage until they got it right at little to no cost to Space X. Now they are landing them in tandem from the Falcon Heavy, successfully tested for the first time a month or so ago. Next is the BFR, the Big Freakin Rocket, similar to the BFH, or Big Hammer.  It will eventually go to Mars.

But today's launch was the first baby step to launching a constellation of LEO advanced technology satellites that can do two way Internet at GB speeds for cheap. These with be everywhere handing off from one to the next much like the cell towers today hand off from one to the next without us noticing usually.

Remember Musk, with Tesla or his still privately owned Space X, always delivers. Maybe later than his enthusiastic early announcements predict, but he always delivers and not years into the future or limited like American "compliance vehicles" are, only to look like compliance, not make then affordably ubiquitous. Musk is making that happen affordably and everywhere. Many don't know the Bolt was engineered entirely by, and is still made by Goldstar of Korea, and only assembled here in the Orion plant. It is not a GM car, anymore than a KIA bought by GM and labeled Chevy would be made by GM. Assembled only. Their Volt is about to be dropped and we all know the Bolt is next.

Big cable will try to legislate against us having cheap, faster, and everywhere in the rural, even the desolate underpopulated areas, as well as the populated areas. They will make billions. And that much faster than the cable and DSL companies can do over copper or ground based cell towers. This is pro humanity not a few oil barons and billionaire limited cable companies.

" A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a pre-flown first stage successfully delivered to orbit today (Feb. 22) the first two prototypes for the company's huge Starlink satellite-internet constellation, along with a Spanish Earth-observing spacecraft.

The two-stage Falcon 9 lifted off from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base today at 9:17 a.m. EST (1417 GMT; 6:17 a.m. local California time) and successfully delivered its main payload, the Paz radar-imaging satellite, into its intended orbit. In a first, SpaceX also attempted to recover the protective nose-cone-like payload fairing in the Pacific Ocean with a net-carrying boat called Mr. Steven.

The two SpaceX satellite-internet prototypes, known as Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, rode along today as secondary payloads.

"These are meant to gather data in advance of deploying and operating a satellite constellation that will provide internet service," Tom Praderio, a SpaceX firmware engineer, said during live launch commentary. "Even if these satellites work as planned, we still have considerable technical work ahead of us to design and deploy a low-Earth satellite constellation.

The two experimental craft will help get SpaceX's Starlink satellite-internet constellation off the ground. If everything works out, this meganetwork, which company founder and CEO Elon Musk first announced in 2015, will eventually consist of thousands of satellites. Together, these spacecraft will provide low-cost internet to people around the world, with services beginning in 2020, on at least a limited basis, SpaceX has said.

"This system, if successful, would provide people in low to moderate population densities around the world with affordable high-speed internet access, including many who have never had internet access before," Praderio said.

SpaceX hasn't said much about Starlink publicly; indeed, the company didn't even announce the presence of Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b on today's mission until yesterday (Feb. 21), when Musk tweeted about the duo. The spacecraft are mentioned in documents SpaceX filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), however.

On Wednesday (Feb. 21), Musk did reveal on Twitter that the name for the Starlink satellites was inspired by the romantic novel "The Fault in Our Stars," by John Green. 

"If anyone is curious, the name was inspired by The Fault in Our Stars," Musk wrote.

If anyone is curious, the name was inspired by The Fault in Our Stars

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2018

SpaceX isn't the only company with satellite-internet dreams. The FCC has already approved such projects being developed by OneWeb, Space Norway and Telesat. The FCC hasn't officially green-lit Starlink yet, but commission Chairman Ajit Pai recently endorsed the project and said he had urged the other four commissioners to do so as well.

Musk has said he plans to funnel the profits from Starlink into SpaceX's overarching goal: helping to establish a human settlement on Mars. The company is developing a huge new rocket-spaceship combo called the BFR for this purpose, aiming to use that craft to get a million-person Red Planet city up and running in the next 50 to 100 years.

Developing fully and rapidly reusable rockets and spacecraft is key to achieving Mars settlement and other ambitious spaceflight goals, Musk and others have stressed.

Today's launch further showcased SpaceX's progress on that path: This liftoff was the ninth involving a used Falcon 9 first stage. The company has successfully landed and recovered 23 such boosters, two of them during the maiden launch of SpaceX's huge Falcon Heavy rocket on Feb. 6."

 

More here:

https://www.space.com/39755-spacex-used-rocket-launches-internet-satellites.html

[Smitty77_7]

Going to be cool to see Starlink evolve. Go Musk, Go SpaceX, and go competition of data feeds!!

Best to all,

Smitty

[RV_]

Smitty,

I never thought it would be done in my lifetime but one guy is making it happen now. I am proud to be an investor. I hope Space X IPOs soon for us to invest long in too.