SpaceX is well on track to have 1000 satellites in orbit by the end of January 2021. Rival OneWeb is due to add another 36 craft to its existing fleet of 74 satellites on December 17th. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has yet to launch any of his Project Kuiper fleet, but observers are expecting launch action […]
A report from management consultants Deloitte says that commercial aerospace and defence industry revenues will recover in 2021 after the challenges of 2020. Deloitte says that satellite-based broadband (and space exploration) will continue to drive growth. “As funding continues to increase and costs decline, the space industry is likely to experience increased opportunities, primarily in […]
SpaceX has won a portion of the US government’s scheme to provide satellite-based broadband access to rural users. The pay-out, which totals $885.5 million, is part of the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). SpaceX, and other non-terrestrial suppliers, had previously complained that they were being excluded from being considered. In total the FCC has […]
SpaceX has launched one of its Falcon 9 first stage rockets for a record seventh time. Elon Musk’s team now seems unbeatable in terms of the launch, recovery and reuse of its rocket system. SpaceX continuity announcer, Kate Tyce, simply stated that “for the seventh time, this Falcon has landed” as she described a flawless […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite broadband service is now in beta-test mode over North America and a few other ‘friends and family’ locations overseas. SpaceX is on record as saying that initially Starlink will focus very much on North America and would probably expand its service overseas via local agents and resellers. However, Musk says that […]
Would-be subscribers outside North America will have to wait some tome for access to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system. Starlink VP Jonathan Hofeller, speaking at last week’s Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week virtual edition, told attendees that as far as North America was concerned Starlink would stay as a ‘direct to consumer’ business. Starlink is already […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite service is providing impressive speeds to its beta-test users. Numerous reports are emerging that downlink speeds, according to speedtest specialist Ookla, are reaching 160 Mb/s and for at least one rural customer in Montana stated that his downlink speed was 174 Mb/s and upload of 33 Mb/s. Another on the West […]
Elon Musk is inviting consumers in rural America to install his Starlink satellite broadband system, at a cost of $99 a month. They also have to pay $499 for the antenna and its associated kit. However, it is widely accepted that Musk’s SpaceX is swallowing some of the antenna’s costs. As recently reported, the search […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink service will cost US rural subscribers $99 (€84) a month. The beta-test users will also have to pay $499 for the phased-array ground terminal, a tripod stand for the antenna and a WiFi router. This price seems high, but for rural and frequently isolated potential users it could prove invaluable. The pricing […]
Elon Musk is sitting on another gold mine if a valuation from Morgan Stanley is anywhere near accurate. The bank – in a best-case valuation – says that Musk’s SpaceX rocket business and its Starlink satellite subsidiary is worth $100 billion. This is undoubtedly good news for Musk, not only in the core valuation but […]