thank you
C&P since reddit is noisy and heavy to read
from
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/wiki/ ... ructure.3F
Starlink - SpaceX Satellite Internet Constellation
r/Starlink
but just simply few sentences discussing real problems, real challenges
==
Starlink FAQ
- What is Starlink?
- What milestones need to happen before I can sign up?
- Why am I not invited?
- What speeds can be expected for the average user?
- How much will it cost per month?
- Can I use Starlink at a location other than my sign up address?
- Will there be data caps?
- Will there be service in my country?
- Will Starlink be available in dense urban areas/cities?
- What are some geopolitical issues Starlink may face?
- Can I replace my cell phone? Is it 5G or Wi-Fi?
- What kind of antenna does it use?
- Can I mount one on my car for internet access on the road?
- Can I use Starlink on my ship/boat?
- What kind of latency is expected? Isn't satellite Internet latency very high?
- Can I see the satellites in the sky?
- What do we know about the satellites?
- What are the orbits of the satellites?
- What do we know about the ground infrastructure?
- With so many satellites is there a risk of the Kessler syndrome?
- What is the bandwidth of the entire system?
- How many launches will SpaceX need to get 4425 satellites in orbit?
- How much will it cost SpaceX to get it up and running?
- Will Starlink support net neutrality?
- Will SpaceX publish some sort of warrant canary?
- What kind of network will it run?
- What frequency bands does it use?
- What are the advantages of satellites over fiber?
- What are the disadvantages?
- What makes Starlink different from other satellite solutions?
- What is the competition?
- Timeline
- Future Milestones
Visit Starlink.com to sign up.
Starlink FAQ
- What is Starlink?
Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites in low earth orbit being setup to provide low-cost, high-performance Internet access anywhere in the world. Tom Praderio, a SpaceX firmware engineer, said during live launch commentary "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".
Unveiling the project in 2015 Elon said "The focus is going to be on creating a global communication system. In the long term, it will be like rebuilding the internet in space. The goal will be to have the majority of long distance internet traffic go over this network and about 10% local and business traffic."
In June 2019 Elon said the value of Starlink is to provide low-latency, high-bandwidth internet access to the sparse and moderately sparse and relatively low density areas. Rural and semi-rural places that don't have any or any adequate internet access are optimal and will target 3% - 5% of people in the world. It is not well suited for high density cities.
SpaceX has permission to deploy up to 11,943 satellites and is requesting permission to deploy 30,000 satellites in other orbits partially replacing the existing authorization. See below for more details.
The name was inspired by "The Fault in Our Stars".source
- What milestones need to happen before I can sign up?
Visit Starlink.com to sign up.
SpaceX didn't release information on the future range of invites and duration of the public beta. See the current range of beta testers. Note that Starlink coverage doesn't expand gradually south with every launch but enlarges substantially south when density of orbital planes doubles relative to the initial deployment of 18 evenly distributed orbital planes in early September.
Elon: “As more satellites reach their target orbit, more planes come online. We should be at 36 planes with all faulty satellites replaced by spares by Jan. That will give us continuous coverage down to around 30 degrees.” 38 planes deployed as of Jan 20th.
Starlink team: "We're planning to move from a limited beta to a wider beta in late January."
The expansion started within 41-52° latitudes on Jan 20th.
<We are here>
SpaceX needs to obtain a spectrum license in your country. See more below.
SpaceX plans to achieve near global coverage of the populated world by Q3 2021. The satellites "can provide service up to approximately 57° latitude; coverage to service points beyond this range will be provided by satellites included in SpaceX’s polar orbits." according to SpaceX filing.
According to Stephen Clark of Spaceflight Now "Commercial service will begin after SpaceX has its initial network of around 1,584 satellites in orbit, including spares." The size of the network matches the size required to cover the Philippines so implies Q3 2021. Note that it's unknown if the initial network is capable of covering the US or any other country contiguously. See "Why am I not invited" question below.
Satellites in polar orbits need to be launched to cover Alaska and other areas higher than 57° latitude. Elon: “By the end of next [2021] year, we hope to have full global coverage, including the poles.” In mid-November SpaceX asked the FCC for an expeditious approval of 6 launches to polar orbits. In January the FCC granted permission to launch 10 Starlink satellites but deferred the decision to approve 6 launches (348 satellites). The 10 satellites are going to be used by SpaceX for experiments and tests. They won't provide commercial service.
- Why am I not invited?
Assuming you signed up at starlink.com and you are in the area of beta testers you are not invited because Starlink service is available in a limited number of hexagonal cells about 15 miles (24 km) across partially covering the area of beta testers. Watch November Starlink mission webcast for the explanation (at 9:40). Cells are also limited in capacity according to an email from Starlink.
Interactive map of the shown and surrounding cells.
- What speeds can be expected for the average user?
SpaceX expects speed to vary between 50 and 150 Mbps during public beta testing period.
"Service levels of 100 Mbps down / 40 Mbps up would generally be anticipated," wrote a SpaceX sales engineer to Nebraska rural broadband task force in July 2019. When asked about user experience in March 2020 Elon said that users will be able to watch HD movies and play video games without noticing speed. In Aug 2020 various speed tests performed by beta testers and SpaceX employees have been discovered on Ookla's speedtest.net website. Ookla told PCMag: "These tests do appear to be legitimate." In Sep 2020 SpaceX announced that initial tests have shown 100 Mbps speed.
CEO of Tape Ark who has been working with SpaceX to explore uses of Starlink to support oil and gas exploration said higher speed of 1 Gbps is possible with dual parabolic antennas on research vessels. SpaceX demonstrated 610 Mbps provided in flight to the co*ckpit of a military aircraft. The test didn't use retail Starlink antenna.
- How much will it cost per month?
SpaceX will adjust Starlink's pricing "as necessary to individual markets."
Public beta cost in the US: $499 Starlink kit and $99/month for service. No contract. One month to return for refund on the kit. See terms of use during the beta. The price reflects what pricing will be in the full commercial service, Starlink Vice President Jonathan Hofeller said.
Cost in Canada: $649.00 CAD terminal, $129.00 CAD monthly service fee.
Cost in the UK: £439 terminal, £89 monthly service fee.
(Future) Cost in Germany: 499€ terminal, 99€ monthly service fee, 59€ shipping and handling. Pre-order cost 99€.
(Future) Cost in Australia: 709 AU$ terminal, 139 AU$ monthly service fee, 100 AU$ shipping and handling. Pre-order cost 139 AU$.
(Future) Cost in New Zealand: 799 NZ$ terminal, 159 NZ$ monthly service fee, 114 NZ$ shipping and handling. Pre-order cost 159 NZ$.
SpaceX on pricing in Germany: “[...] we will orientate ourselves on what the local market allows.”
In May 2020 Elon said the cost of user terminal is the biggest challenge. He expects it will take a few years to solve that.
Patricia Cooper of SpaceX in Nov 2020: "The user equipment, this phased array flat antenna that we build ourselves has content that's more advanced than most jets, so we have been driving that cost down. I think most comparable antennas on the public market have been offered with five digits, so we've made the first leaps of being able to get it into a household budget. We expect the consumer kit to become a lot more affordable, not just from economies of scale as we ramp up to high-rate production levels, but also from ongoing design decisions that we think will drive the prices lower over time. We don't know where that is going to go. We do have our own internal targets, though... We're trying to move along from that early adopter phase to a really affordable consumer price, but it won't be in the first stage that we offer the beta."
Elon: "SpaceX needs to pass through a deep chasm of negative cash flow over the next [2022] year or so to make Starlink financially viable. Every new satellite constellation in history has gone bankrupt. We hope to be the first that does not. Starlink is a staggeringly difficult technical & economic endeavor. However, if we don’t fail, the cost to end users will improve every year."
- Can I use Starlink at a location other than my sign up address?
Public beta terms of service: "for use exclusively at the address you provided in your Order."
Public beta official FAQ: "Starlink is only approved for use at the Service Address you provided when you signed up on starlink.com."
From the official FAQ: "Starlink satellites are scheduled to send internet down to all users within a designated area on the ground. This designated area is referred to as a cell. Your Starlink is assigned to a single cell. If you move your Starlink outside of its assigned cell, a satellite will not be scheduled to serve your Starlink and you will not receive internet. This is constrained by geometry and is not arbitrary geofencing."
We have reports it works within 15 miles. We have a report it doesn't work 90 miles away from sign up address. An invitee took his kit to South California and live streamed unboxing. The antenna never tilted and the app always showed "connecting" status. A beta tester took his kit on a trip. It worked at a first stop initially but then refused to work at the same location. Never connected at a second location he tried.
In case of being blocked at your service address contact support.
- Will there be data caps?
Starlink team in November 2020: "At this time, the Starlink beta service does not have data caps" followed by "So we really don't want to implement restrictive data caps like people have encountered with satellite internet in the past. Right now we're still trying to figure a lot of stuff out--we might have to do something in the future to prevent abuse and just ensure that everyone else gets quality service."
- Will there be service in my country?
The satellites will cover the entire world however actually getting access will require your country's government permission. SpaceX is focused to offer service in the United States and Canada first. In countries where SpaceX can, they are likely to sell directly to consumers, according to Shotwell.
Outside the United States, SpaceX is working nation by nation to get authorization to offer the service. “Every country has its own process,” said Shotwell.
North America
Canada: Beta testing started on Nov 14th shortly after receiving ISED approval.
Caribbean: Elon: "Hopefully working in Caribbean by end of 2020. Def by 2021."
Mexico: met with regulators and registered a local company.
In the EU SpaceX registered Starlink Holdings Netherlands B.V. (originally TIBRO Netherlands B.V.) as the head company. It and its subsidiaries are in the process of being licensed in each individual state of the union. Elon: "As soon as we get country approval. This is required for each country individually, as no EU-wide approval system exists. Probably start receiving final (there are many steps) approvals around Feb/March."
The UK: beta testing started on December 19th.
Germany: was on track for launch in 2020. Spectrum license granted on Dec 18th.
Greece: got licensed in December 2020. Plans to start providing service in Q1.
France: registered a local company and got an approval to build three gateways. Received ISP licencing and spectrum licencing.
Austria: registered a local company.
Spain: registered a branch of Starlink Holdings Netherlands B.V.
Ireland: registered a local company.
Italy: registered a local company.
Portugal: registered local company (1, 2), is in testing (1, 2)
Oceania
Australia: got a carrier license and a few gateways approved. Spectrum license granted on Jan 19th.
New Zealand: registered a local company and applied for gateways. Local media report.
Asia
India: Elon: "As soon as we get regulatory approval. Hopefully, around middle of next [2021] year." SpaceX urges India to facilitate satellite broadband, hints at bringing Starlink to India.
Japan: applied for market access.
The Philippines: in discussion with the government to get licensed.
Africa
Elon: "Hopefully start serving Africa early next [2021] year."
Nigeria: got a spectrum license in Jan 2021.
South Africa: registered a local company.
South America
Argentina: registered a branch of Starlink Holdings Netherlands B.V. and got an ISP license.
Brazil: registered a local company.
Chile: registered a local company and applied to build 7 gateway stations.
Colombia: registered a local company.
Visit starlink.com to sign up.
- Will Starlink be available in dense urban areas/cities?
Elon: "We'll have some small number of customers in Los Angeles but we can't do a lot of customers in Los Angeles because the bandwidth per cell is simply not high enough" also "I wanna be clear, it's not like Starlink is a huge threat to telcos. I want to be super clear. It is not. In fact it will be helpful to telcos because Starlink will serve the hardest to serve customers that telcos otherwise have trouble doing with landlines or even with cell radio stations, cell towers."
- What are some geopolitical issues Starlink may face?
Outside the United States, SpaceX is working nation by nation to get authorization to offer the service. “Every country has its own process,” said Shotwell.
The US public beta terms of use prohibit use of Starlink at unauthorized locations.
Elon on the issue back in 2015: "From our standpoint we could conceivably continue to broadcast and they'd have a choice of either shooting our satellites down... or not. China can do that. So we probably shouldn't broadcast there. <laughs> If they get upset with us, they can blow our satellites up. I mean, I'm hopeful that we can structure agreements with various countries to allow communication with their citizens but it is on a country by country basis. I don't think it's something that would affect the timeline. At least, it's not going to take longer than five years to do that. Not all countries will agree at first. There will always be some countries that don't agree. That's fine." Emphasis added.
Per the ITU constitution the US signed all telecommunications including satellite communications are regulated by nations: "While fully recognizing the sovereign right of each State to regulate its telecommunication ... the States Parties to this Constitution ... have agreed ..." In theory all countries should respect fair trade treaties they signed but in reality some countries may impose high fees or unacceptable conditions on Starlink. It is the job of the US government to make other countries abide to fair trade policies.
- Can I replace my cell phone? Is it 5G or Wi-Fi?
No. It is not meant to replace your cell phone service because of the antenna required. The antenna must be capable of generating a very narrow beam and pointing it at a moving satellite. Currently that's not possible with a handheld device, in fact it would require a breakthrough in phased-array antennas to implement. Even if such an antenna was designed the spectrum Starlink is using doesn't not penetrate typical roofs and walls.
It's possible a fairly small (between 10"x10" and 5"x5") portable but not meant to be held in a hand terminal could be developed. It would need to be laid flat outdoors away from obstructions including human bodies. No hints from SpaceX it is developing such a terminal.
Starlink does not use 5G NR and Wi-Fi protocols for Earth to/from space communications. It requires a proprietary terminal to decode proprietary Starlink protocol. Starlink retail kit comes with a Wi-Fi router that broadcasts Wi-Fi signal in a small area around it providing access to the terminal connected to the router via an Ethernet cable. Some cellular towers of some mobile service providers may use Starlink system to connect to the core network but end users won't know that.
- What kind of antenna does it use?
Starlink user terminal
More photos of Starlink antenna/user terminal.
Elon: "Looks like a thin, flat, round UFO on a stick. Starlink Terminal has motors to self-adjust optimal angle to view sky. Instructions are simply:
Plug in socket
Point at sky
These instructions work in either order. No training required."
The terminal contains a flat phased array antenna about 19 inches or 48 cm in diameter. The antenna consist of a large number of small antennas working together to steer the signal in a specific direction. That allows the signal to track a Starlink satellite as it passes overhead and then switch to the next one when the first is out of range. According to SpaceX's filing, operation at elevation angles below 40 degrees is achieved by tilting the antenna.
Starlink kit comes with a dish (aka user terminal), a Wi-Fi router, a PoE (power over Ethernet) supply, a tripod mount and two Ethernet cables.
Ridgeline and Volcano roof mounts, and a Pipe Adapter are sold separately.
- Can I mount one on my car for internet access on the road?
Public beta terms of use specify that the terminal has to be installed at a fixed location.
From the official FAQ: "Starlink satellites are scheduled to send internet down to all users within a designated area on the ground. This designated area is referred to as a cell. Your Starlink is assigned to a single cell. If you move your Starlink outside of its assigned cell, a satellite will not be scheduled to serve your Starlink and you will not receive internet. This is constrained by geometry and is not arbitrary geofencing."
When asked about possibility of Tesla vehicles using Starlink Elon said it's possible but they would need to design a smaller antenna for sedans. See also the photos of the first Starlink antenna above. The antenna is designed to tilt so it is not clear what will happen if it is fixed to a roof of a car. Regardless of antenna model Starlink will not work in your garage, a covered parking lot, or in a tunnel. Trees could be a problem as well. Starlink service to mobile terminals could be cut off or heavily limited in dense urban areas.
Starlink team: "Mobility options - including moving your Starlink to different service addresses (or places that don't even have addresses!) - is coming once we are able to increase our coverage by launching more satellites & rolling out new hardware and software."
- Can I use Starlink on my ship/boat?
Public beta terms of use specify that the terminal has to be installed at a fixed location.
From the official FAQ: "Starlink satellites are scheduled to send internet down to all users within a designated area on the ground. This designated area is referred to as a cell. Your Starlink is assigned to a single cell. If you move your Starlink outside of its assigned cell, a satellite will not be scheduled to serve your Starlink and you will not receive internet. This is constrained by geometry and is not arbitrary geofencing."
SpaceX hasn't publicly announced timeline for service at sea. In February 2021 SpaceX got an experimental license to operate 10 Starlink terminals on its ships in US waters. After the testing SpaceX needs to file an application for a regular earth stations on vessels license and get it approved.
FCC jurisdiction covers use of Starlink in international waters.
- What kind of latency is expected? Isn't satellite Internet latency very high?
SpaceX expects latency to be between 20ms to 40ms in public beta.
Elon: "Aiming for sub 20ms latency initially, sub 10ms over time, with much greater consistency than terrestrial links, as only ever a few hops to major data centers."
By Sep 2020 SpaceX has conducted millions of tests on actual consumer-grade equipment in congested cells. These measurements indicated a 95th percentile latency of 42 ms and 50th percentile latency of 30 ms between end users and the point of presence connecting to the Internet.
The existing satellite Internet service is provided by geostationary satellites orbiting at 35,786 km (22,236 miles). At such a high altitude signal propagates at least for 477 ms through space (if user is at the equator, longer at higher latitudes). First Starlink satellites will be orbiting much lower at 550 km (342 miles) making significantly lower latency possible.
- Can I see the satellites in the sky?
Yes, like other low orbiting satellites, it is possible to see them when conditions are right. Just after launch, the 60 satellites are close together and are visible in a line in the sky. Within a few weeks to a few months the satellites separate and become much dimmer as they travel to their final orbits. There are several sites that can show you when and where to spot them:
findstarlink.com
james.darpinian.com
starlinkfinder.com
celestrak.com
starlinkradar.com
spacex.moesalih.com
satellitemap.space
sebsebmc.github.io
heavens-above.com | 3D orbit display
satflare.com
flightclub.io
- What do we know about the satellites?
v0.9 227 kg launched in May 2019. v1.0 260 kg starting from Nov 2019. 386 kg (850lbs) each according to the original 2016 FCC application.
2.8 m × 1.4 m (estimated).
Single solar array 2.8 m × 10 m (estimated).
Inter-satellites laser links will be introduced in late 2020.source First prototypes were tested in Sep 2020.source
Propulsion via Hall Effect thrusters using Krypton propellant
The attitude of each spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized, and is dynamically controlled over each orbit to maintain attitude position for two pointing modes of operation
5 year lifespan
Planned controlled de-orbit at end of life
Expected to be mass produced in house at SpaceX facilities in Redmond and Brewster, Washington
More details revealed in SpaceX AMA.
- What are the orbits of the satellites?
Visit Celestrak to see orbits and live positions (more at the host page) or Starlink Updates on Twitter for historical plots.
Authorized orbital parameters are:
Shell 1 at 550 km: 72 planes x 22 satellites, 53º inclination
Shell 2 at 1,110 km: 32 planes x 50 satellites, 53.8º inclination
Shell 3 at 1,130 km: 8 planes x 50 satellites, 74º inclination
Shell 4 at 1,275 km: 5 planes x 75 satellites, 81º inclination
Shell 5 at 1,325 km: 6 planes x 75 satellites, 70º inclination
In April 2020 SpaceX submitted an application asking for approval to relocate shells 2-5 down to altitudes ranging from 540 km to 570 km. Proposed orbital configuration.
In phase two SpaceX plans to launch 7,518 satellites in VLEO (Very-Low-Earth Orbit) constellation to increase overall bandwidth in populated areas and provide better ping times.
Shell 1 at 345.6 km: 2,547 planes x 1 satellite, 53º inclination
Shell 2 at 340.8 km: 2,478 planes x 1 satellite, 48º inclination
Shell 3 at 335.9 km: 2,493 planes x 1 satellite, 42º inclination
A new filing made with ITU in Oct 2019:
1500 sats at 87.7°, 580 km
1500 sats at 85°, 539.7 km
1500 sats at 80°, 532 km
1500 sats at 75°, 524.7 km
1500 sats at 70°, 517.8 km
4500 sats at 53°, 498.8 km
4500 sats at 40°, 488.4 km
4500 sats at 30°, 482.8 km
3000 sats at 53°, 345.6 km
3000 sats at 40°, 334.4 km
3000 sats at 30°, 328.3 km
SpaceX is asking to deploy each shell with either 1 or 60 satellites per plane. Note that the shell at 345.6 km matches an existing one so the new filing at least partially replaces the old one. To read the filings search for "USASAT-NGSO-3" at ITU. SpaceX will also need to make a corresponding filing with the FCC for US market access.
See the FCC filings below for more details.
- What do we know about the ground infrastructure?
Until inter-satellites links are introduced a satellite needs to be in a service area of a gateway station to provide service to subscribers. A gateway station is a site with multiple antennas and a fiber internet connection. Regardless of inter-satellites links a team of MIT researchers estimates Starlink system will need 123 gateway sites across the world to support expected system bandwidth. By April 2020 SpaceX applied to operate 19 gateway sites in the US:
Map of Starlink gateways.
Thanks to fairly large gateway service areas it is expected that gateways will cover the vast majority of land mass. The final service areas layer in the map shows reduced gateway service areas but the reduction will be implemented only when the number of satellites increases greatly and a sufficiently number of gateways is built. In sparsely populated areas like Alaska SpaceX may continue using large gateway service areas.
- With so many satellites is there a risk of the Kessler syndrome?
Kessler syndrome is when satellites crash into each other creating a debris field that in turn crashes into other satellites causing a cascade effect like in the movie Gravity. The risk is not zero but it is close to zero. The earth is huge! Imagine you took 4425 Volkswagen Beetles and spread them out evenly on the entire surface of the Earth. The distance between each would be about 600 miles. One would be in California and the next would be in the middle of Utah. Now imagine you actually wanted to crash two of the Beetles together. You get in your Beetle in Salt Lake City Utah, drive all the way to San Francisco California and then find that one Beetle parked behind the Four Barrel Coffee shop. Now add to that the Beetle might also be anywhere up to 300 km above that shop and you can imagine how difficult it would really be.
Notes:
There are currently more than 20,000 objects larger than a softball in orbit around the earth.
The satellites are moving at 28,080 km/h.
The proposed constellation would total around 12,000 satellites.
Satellites have crashed into each other already. In 2009 an Iridium satellite crashed into a deactivated Russian communications satellite creating approximately 1,000 pieces of debris larger than 10 centimeters.
- What is the bandwidth of the entire system?
A team of MIT researchers estimated sellable capacity of 4,425 Starlink satellites accounting for the world population distribution and other negative effects to be 23.7 Tbps.
Each v1.0 batch of 60 satellites adds ~1 Tbps.
Note that Starlink will have a limit on bandwidth per area. As a result Starlink is not expected to serve a lot of customers in dense cities.
- How many launches will SpaceX need to get 4425 satellites in orbit?
Estimates based on current information. This will change as development continues.
On a Falcon 9 60 satellites fit in the fairing. On a Super heavy/Starship - Gwynne Shotwell said it could launch 400 satellites.
For the initial 4425 satellite deployment:
Falcon 9: 74 flights.
Super heavy/Starship: 11 flights.
- How much will it cost SpaceX to get it up and running?
In 2015 Elon estimated the cost at $10 to $15 billion.
Gwynne Shotwell TED interview mentioned that the deployment of Starlink would cost around $10 billion. (2018)
- Will Starlink support net neutrality?
No firm details at this point.
- Will SpaceX publish some sort of warrant canary?
A warrant canary is a method by which a communications service provider aims to inform its users that the provider has been served with a secret government subpoena despite legal prohibitions on revealing the existence of the subpoena. The warrant canary typically informs users that there has not been a secret subpoena as of a particular date. If the canary is not updated for the time period specified by the host or if the warning is removed, users are to assume that the host has been served with such a subpoena. The intention is to allow the provider to warn users of the existence of a subpoena passively, without disclosing to others that the government has sought or obtained access to information or records under a secret subpoena.
Unknown, but don't count on it.
- What kind of network will it run?
Elon - Feb 25th 2018 - Will be simpler than IPv6 and have tiny packet overhead. Definitely peer-to-peer.
Elon - Feb 25th 2018 - End-to-end encryption encoded at firmware level. Unlikely to be hacked w current computing tech. If it is (and we learn about it), a crypto fix will go out immediately via network-wide firmware update.
- What frequency bands does it use?
Ku and Ka bands allocation. Note that the spectrum is shared in the US with OneWeb and Telesat according to 47 CFR § 25.261.
Ku- and V-band for user links (create additional spectrum diversity by enabling use of both)
Ka- and V-band for gateway links and tracking, telemetry and control
User Downlink Satellite-to-User Terminal - 10.7 – 12.7 GHz
Gateway Downlink Satellite to Gateway - 17.8 – 18.6 GHz 18.8 – 19.3 GHz
User Uplink User Terminal to Satellite - 14.0 – 14.5 GHz
Gateway Uplink Gateway to Satellite - 27.5 – 29.1 GHz 29.5 – 30.0 GHz
TT&C Downlink - 12.15 – 12.25 GHz 18.55 – 18.60 GHz
TT&C Uplink - 13.85 – 14.00 GHz
See the FCC filings for more details:
Application Legal narrative Technical Grant Purpose
2016/11/15 view view view LEO shells
2017/03/01 view view view VLEO shells and V-band
2017/07/26 Amendment of the LEO application
2018/11/08 Lower shell 1 altitude
2019/02/01 User terminal
2019/08/30 Change shell 1 to 72 planes
2020/04/17 Lower altitude of all shells
2020/05/26 Gen2
2020/07/31 5M user terminals
2020/09/15 view 10 terminals at sea
2020/11/06 5 terminals on private jets
2021/03/05 On cars, ships, and planes
- What are the advantages of satellites over fiber?
Light travels through fiber optic cables 30% to 50% below the speed of light. Light travels at the speed of light in a vacuum for satellite to satellite communications.
Fiber cables need to follow infrastructure, communities and countries. Satellites are direct line-of-sight communications.javascript:void(0)
Fiber cables need a repeater about every 100 miles to boost the signal.
- What are the disadvantages?
In high population density areas bandwidth is not high enough to offer service to everybody.
Once installed fiber offers a very long term upgrade path. As technology progresses a fiber network typically requires only equipment upgrades. ISP equipment has been implemented to support 178 Tbps using a single strand of fiber.
Weather can diminish signals to and from the satellites.
Negative impact on astronomy. Extremely sensitive state of the art telescopes can see Starlink satellites even after reflectivity reduction measures are applied. That may require longer observation time per project and may prevent observation of rare phenomena.
- What makes Starlink different from other satellite solutions?
Current satellite solutions have limited bandwidth with higher ping times. Satellites in Geostationary orbit are 35,786 km (22,236 mi) away. That distance creates real world ping times on the order of about 600 to 1200ms. Since there will be over 4000 Starlink satellites they can be in lower orbits reducing the distance between the end user and the satellite. Shorter distance makes for better ping times; Starlink is projected to operate around 25 to 50ms.
- What is the competition?
OneWeb - 648 Gen 1 satellites to be launched on Soyuz rockets, plans to start selling services in 2020 in Alaska. Received key approval in June 2017 from the FCC and launched the first 6 satellites in Feb 2019. Future plans of up to 1980 LEO and 2560 MEO Gen 3+ satellites total. OneWeb FAQ
HughesNet Gen5 - 25Mbps download 3Mbps upload. About 5 satellites in GEO orbit.
Exede by ViaSat - 12-100 Mbps download. 4 satellites in GEO orbit.
O3b (Other Three Billion) by SES - 20 O3b (MEO) and 3 SES GEO high throughput satellites in orbit. Plans to launch 7 O3b mPower MEO satellites with 10 Tbps total capacity in 2021.
Other Constellations that are still in early planning stages:
Kuiper (Amazon) - 3,236 satellites in LEO. 784 satellites at 367 miles (590 km), 1,296 satellites at 379 miles (610 km), and 1,156 satellites at 391-mile (630 km) orbits
Telesat - 117 satellites at 1,000 km
LeoSat - Failed to obtain funding. 108 low-Earth-orbit (1400km) satellites at the cost of 3 billion Euros
Laser Light - 12 satellites at 10,000 km
Lucky Star 156 satellites at 1000 km
Sfera - 334 satellites at 870 km
Commsat China - 800 satellites at 600 km
Astrome Technologies - 600 satellites at 1,400 km
Xinwei - China 32 satellites sats unknown altitude
Hongyan - China - 300 satellites at 1,100 km
There are many more in the planning stages.
- Timeline
2014 Jun 27 - Filed an ITU application for 4,257 satellite constellation STEAM via Norway.1, 2, 3
2015 - Announced during a Seattle visit.
2017 Oct - SpaceX filed application with FCC to ground test a satellite communications system between its facilities in Redmond, Washington
2018 Jan - Ground testing a satellite communications system between facilities in Redmond, Wash to 2018 April 24
2018 Feb 22 - First 2 prototypes launched - Tintin A & B
2018 March 29th - FCC approved the application by SpaceX, allowing the company to provide broadband services using satellites in the U.S. and world wide. The vote was 5-0 in favor.
2019 April - SpaceX files for 6 base stations for Starlink. Locations: North Bend WA, Conrad MT, Merrillan WI, Greenville PA, Redmond WA, Hawthorne CA, Brewster WA
2019 April - FCC granted approval to fly 1,500 Starlink satellites at an altitude of 550km
2019 May 24 - Launched 60 test satellites
2019 Nov 11 - Launched first 60 production satellites
2020 Mar 13 - Received approval to operate up to 1 million user terminals in the US
2020 July - Started private beta trials with friends and families of SpaceX employees.1
2020 Sep - Deployed 18 evenly distributed planes to cover 44-52° latitudes range.
2020 Oct 26 - Public beta started
- Future Milestones
Early 2021 - Service to be offered across the US and Canada up to 57° latitude
2021 - Continuous coverage between 57° South and North latitudes
Mar 2024 - FCC deadline to deploy half of the LEO constellation (2,213 satellites)
Nov 2024 - FCC deadline to deploy half of the VLEO constellation (3,759 satellites)
Mar 2027 - FCC deadline to deploy the LEO constellation (4,425 satellites)
Nov 2027 - FCC deadline to deploy the VLEO constellation (7,518 satellites)
Last revised by softwaresaur
