Tag: SpaceX

Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell Service Offers Texting in 2024, Voice and Data in 2025

SpaceX’s Starlink is poised to revolutionize how we stay connected, as they’re venturing into the cosmic domain with its Direct to Cell satellite phone service. Scheduled for liftoff next year, the groundbreaking service promises seamless compatibility with your existing smartphones and, in the not-so-distant future, access to text, voice, and data services.

A dedicated page on the Starlink website outlines the grand vision, with Direct to Cell’s text messaging service set to debut in 2024, followed by the integration of voice and data capabilities in 2025. The prospect is nothing short of awe-inspiring, with Starlink envisioning “ubiquitous access to texting, calling, and browsing wherever you may be on land, lakes, or coastal waters.”

Furthermore, this innovative service will be pivotal in connecting many IoT (Internet of Things) devices, forging a bridge between technology and our daily lives. Starlink’s ambitious satellite communication venture first took flight last year in collaboration with T-Mobile US. Their initial goal was to establish coverage across the continental United States, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico, and US territorial waters. Looking ahead, they plan to enlist global carriers as partners to expand their reach even further.

Today, their reciprocal global access partners list includes Rogers in Canada, Optus in Australia, One NZ in New Zealand, Salt in Switzerland, and KDDI in Japan. The Direct to Cell service is designed to seamlessly work with existing LTE phones, ensuring that no alterations to your phone hardware, firmware, or special applications are necessary for you to unlock access to text, voice, and data. While it remains uncertain whether “existing LTE phones” imply a 4G service, the prospect of 5G compatibility may be on the horizon.

Described as “a cellphone tower in space,” the service promises to integrate with partner networks much like a standard roaming agreement. This means that when you venture beyond the reach of your provider’s cell tower, you can seamlessly transition to the direct-to-cell service provided by your global partner network. As for the pricing details, Starlink has kept them under wraps for now.

Nevertheless, the world eagerly awaits the moment when this cosmic communication service will become a reality. Amidst the buzz surrounding satellite connectivity, driven in part by Apple’s satellite support in the iPhone 14, Starlink’s Direct to Cell venture is set to redefine the way we stay connected, both on Earth and beyond.

However, Starlink has its cosmic competitors and potential regulatory challenges. AT&T has raised concerns about Starlink operating services using T-Mobile’s spectrum, citing possible interference with its terrestrial cellphone services. It seems that the race to the stars is on, and the future of connectivity promises to be out of this world.

Elon Musk’s Starship could finally make us Interplanetary Species

Despite technological advances, we as human species have managed to travel only a little over 4 lakh kilometres to the dark side of our moon. Why have we not explored further? The answer is simple – The lack of powerful rockets capable of transporting humans and their bare necessities any further. We’ve been sling shooting satellites beyond immeasurable distances across our solar system’s circumference for years at this moment in time. Speaking of which, Elon Musk, his SpaceX organisation and their latest Starship in its third iteration powered by innovative new boosters might just be the tools required to make the human species an interplanetary species.

Elon Musk and SpaceX showcased their new plans with their newest Starship in Texas on 10th February 2022. This new Starship is 50m in height/length, 9m in diameter, has a propellant capacity of 1200t with a thrust capacity of 1500tf and a loading capacity of 100-150t based on the orbit trajectory. The Starship is SpaceX’s main vessel that shall transport humans, materials, tools and much more from planet Earth to destined planet Mars. This being the third generation Starship, it has improved from the ones shown two years ago and has larger dimensions and relatively powerful yet efficient boosters named Raptor V2.

This new propulsion system is said to be smaller, efficient, have fewer parts and produce more thrust power than its predecessor, Raptor V1. One of the critical components of the mix is their new Raptor engine configuration, which beautifully aligns 33 propulsion nozzles with achieving optimal thrust levels. There’s something unique about the launch and catch towers designed for Starship and the Super Heavy (yeah, that’s a name) booster vessel. The Starship vessel shall be thrust into the earth’s orbit by Super Heavy, a 69m long, 9m in diameter just as the Starship, has a propellant capacity of 3400t and a whopping thrust capacity of 7590tf. The Super Heavy booster can thrust one Starship into orbit, return and land on its pod, all in six minutes!

SpaceX plans to make and launch 50 of these Starships and Super Heavy thrusters before the end of 2022. Why so many, you ask? As Elon Musk explained on stage, the human race will eventually need to become an interplanetary species as the sun’s radiation destroys our solar system in the next million years. This is humanity’s first viable step towards carrying life beyond our planet and dwelling through the multi-verse. Elon Musk also spoke about the plan to colonise planet Mars. The new Starships’ ambitious production and life cycle will have SpaceX making one whole Starship each month. This is necessary as the Starships with payload will be refilled with fuel in Earth’s orbit by another fuel filling Starship. We are already fuelling flying jets and planes via other planes on a harsh gravitational pull, so doing this in space shall be relatively more straightforward or challenging considering the sheer size of the Starships.

Fuelling the Starships is necessary to carry the payload to Mars and back. Elon Musk claims that with time, they will be able to produce one Starship and its booster each month and bring that close to making each unit in about three days. Coupled with the announcements of making 7 Raptor V2 engines per week, SpaceX is all in to make Starship the vessel of transportation from Earth to Mars. While SpaceX waits for approvals from Federal Aviation Administration in the USA, the first orbital flight of the Starship could be seen as soon as the first half of 2022. Subsequently, the first trials of orbital fuel filling shall commence as soon as 2023-24. Being super optimistic on stage, Elon Musk announced that the boosters could be refilled and reused in less than an hour while the Starships can do the same in 6-8 hours. If managed well, we could see three Starship launches a day in the future of time.

The ISRU is working closely with SpaceX and scientists to plan this Mars invasion of humans powered by massive Starships. The first few Starships will have no humans and carry essential goods required to set up an infrastructure for human colonisation. Plus, the first people to land on Mars could be groups of crucial workers and experts who will build a habitable infrastructure on the red planet. That said, each Starship can be configured to take about 100 humans and a payload each flight. The first trip of Starship shall be reserved for artists worldwide to witness a round trip around the moon. It took us years to achieve these advancements in space travel. Elon Musk is confident that SpaceX’s Starship, Super Heavy boosters, launch and catch towers and the new Raptor V2 engines will propel humanity towards becoming a multi-planetary species. We sure hope this becomes real in our lifetimes.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Buys Satellite Connectivity Startup Swarm Technologies

SpaceX is in the process of acquiring a satellite connectivity startup. According to a report by SpaceNews, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has acquired Swarm Technologies, a startup known for powering IoT services.  

Both the companies involved did not shy away from declaring how the acquisition will help them in the long run. It will give Swarm – a much younger company, the resources it needs to take on other smallsat operators, along with “synergies” that come with the company dealing in the design and launch of satellites.  

A company of only 30 employees launched a commercial mini-satellite network in February and had enough funding to roll out an array of 150 satellites.  

The deal would transfer Swarm’s control of ground and space licenses to SpaceX, as well as additional rights pending before the commission, making the startup a “direct wholly-owned subsidiary” of the larger company.  

Reports suggest that the deal was reached between the two companies on July 16, although FCC did not disclose any financial details of the transaction.  

“Swarm’s services will benefit from the better capitalization and access to resources available to SpaceX, as well as the synergies associated with acquisition by a provider of satellite design, manufacture, and launch services,” the companies said in the filing. 

“For SpaceX’s part, the company will “similarly benefit from access to the intellectual property and expertise developed by the Swarm team, as well as from adding this resourceful and effective team to SpaceX,” it further added.

 Swarm gained some attention back in 2018 when it faced a $900,000 fine from the FCC for launching its mini-satellites without any approval from the agency. The company operates more than 100 satellites for two-way, slow-speed communications for energy, transportation, and agriculture markets. 

 There’s a lot of jostling in the satellite industry, whether Orbcomm’s pending acquisition by the GI Partners or Amazon’s recent acquisition of Facebook’s satellite team. 

 However, it is unclear what acquisition of  Swarm by SpaceX means for Starlink Satellite network, which is a part of SpaceX. In the short term, Swarm CEO Sara Spangelo told TechCrunch last month that the company is “still marching” toward its goal of operating a 150-satellite constellation.

 

September 2021: Hi-Speed Internet Service is Coming

The year 2030. It’s your birthday. Your mother calls you and asks you what gift you need. You reply with the internet data. And, in return, your mother says, tweet a post addressing Elon Musk. Elon Musk? With data becoming the engine to ignite the world and its business, some people will surely reply with such statements. But, why? It is because Elon Musk launched a Starlink Project a few months back to deliver hassle-free internet globally. Read this Exhibit blog to know more about the Starlink Project and hi-speed internet service access that Elon Musk will provide soon.

What’s the buzz around?

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has recently announced that their Starlink Project will start delivering internet service globally by September 2021. At this moment, this service (beta one) is available in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and part of Europe. SpaceX will provide internet service to all at a rate of $99 (INR 7000/- an estimate). However, before launching it in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has clearly instructed SpaceX to obtain a related license. Hence, if you are ready to pay an amount mentioned above through UPI, debit card, or credit card, you may get something awesome for sure.

About Starlink Project

SpaceX’s Starlink Project is about launching satellites in the low-earth orbit of 2000 km and making a constellation to provide reliable internet service to people like you. If you think it’s a cool and new concept, then Sheldon Cooper can stop you for sure. There are many geostationary satellites already roaming in space for better coverage. So, why this now? Again Sheldon Cooper will talk about the general time and distance concept. Stationing in the low-earth orbit will ensure that there is low latency and better internet speed. Do you know how much? As per some reports,  if you are a privileged user who will subscribe to the SpaceX service, you will get an internet speed of 209.17 Mbps. Now, don’t try to sing the unheard, unpopular, and unrecognized Pyaar Impossible’s title track.

I am loving it – Hi-Speed Internet Service

Well, SpaceX may face a lawsuit from McDonald’s if they use this tagline. But it’s completely known that everyone who will use SpaceX internet service will surely say these lines. So, start making a checklist about the web series you are thinking of watching on hi-speed or a movie that you haven’t watched as of now. Wait, wait, wait. There’s one more. If you can go for 7000 bucks in a year, take a chance and go for a YouTube premium because fun has no end. Get ready for hi-speed internet service.

SpaceX’s Satellite Internet Network Starlink Is Expected To Hit 5,00,000 Users By August 2022

Dogefather Elon Musk, who is popular for making daring statements and optimistic assurances, hit again with another statement linked to SpaceX’s Starlink internet service while speaking virtually at the Mobile World Congress trade show held in Barcelona, Spain.

Currently, SpaceX’s satellite internet network Starlink has close to 70,000 active users, and the service is available in 12 countries at the moment. While speaking at the event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he’s expecting massive growth in the next 12 months as the service is about to hit globally in August, and soon it will clock about 5 lakh users globally for his ambitious satellite internet network Starlink, which indicates Starlink has to sign about 430,000 users by the end of August 2022.

Starlink is one of his most ambitious projects, which builds an interconnected internet network with thousands of satellites, known in the space industry as a constellation, which typically means stars and these satellites designed to deliver high-speed internet to consumers anywhere around the globe. Elon Musk is expected to launch all 72 orbital planes that will provide worldwide coverage, except for the polar regions.

Starlink is a satellite internet network under Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Currently, it is the world’s largest satellite constellation, with above 1,500 Starlink satellites launched to orbit to date. The satellite internet network is routed through low-Earth orbit satellites and is expected to provide download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps. 

The subscription fee prices for the service are set to $99 per month, along with a $499 Starlink kit containing a dish and the WiFi router, which means it will cost around ₹7,000 per month and is expected to reach India by 2022. While talking about the hefty kit prices, Elon said the company is looking to lower the prices in future with next-gen terminals. Furthermore, he added that SpaceX would launch version two of the satellite next year, which will be more capable and updated.

Dogefather Elon Musk’s SpaceX Accepts Dogecoin, Names DOGE-1 As Upcoming Satellite

When CEO and founder of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, appeared and hosted an episode of a television show Saturday Night Live last weekend, he joked about various things, from his son’s name to his strange tweets, but the one thing that affected the most to the world was his anticipation of the cryptocurrency, as he joked about Dogecoin being a hustle. Due to one short segment, the cryptocurrency crashed overnight and everybody owning a crypto investment got worried, but within 24 hours, Musk tweeted SpaceX launching a Dogecoin-funded satellite to the Moon, and now, everybody is in awe.

Elon Musk, who holds a history of strange tweets, has been tweeting about the SpaceX mission and Dogecoin, but most people considered and treated it as a meme, and now for the first time, he mentioned the commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment.

The mastermind behind the design of SpaceX said the satellite DOGE-1 would be the first crypto and the first meme in space. The DOGE-1 is a CubeSat intended to acquire ‘Lunar-spatial intelligence’ using onboard cameras and sensors. It’s being sent and paid for by a Geometric Energy Corporation company, and it’ll fly beyond the earth on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022.

Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started off as a goofy meme, is invented by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who determined to create a payment system that is fun and free from traditional banking fees.

Elon Musk-led Electric carmaker Tesla Inc bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its electric cars. After vouching for Bitcoin, Elon Musk now supports Dogecoin cryptocurrency, and he’s been tweeting about Dogecoin memes and referring to himself as the Dogefather.

Earlier, right after Musk describes Dogecoin as a hustle in Saturday Night Live show, the value of Dogecoin crashed severely, but when he tweeted late on Sunday about SpaceX is now accepting the cryptocurrency Dogecoin to launch an upcoming satellite named DOGE-1 to the Moon, caused the price of Dogecoin to grow by more than 30 percent immediately. Previously this year, Elon Musk tweeted ‘a literal dogecoin on the literal moon’, which also created a buzz and the price shoot up briefly.

Other details on the DOGE-1 mission, including exactly what it will do in lunar orbit, have not yet been released. However, about the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, what started as a joke is now anything but nearly 113 billion mined coins.

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