Why SpaceX wants to create a global internet network

Private rocket outfit SpaceX is asking the United States government to approval its cunning plan to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage.

In accordance with the recorded data by the Union of Concerned Scientists, currently, there are 1,419 satellites which are active in the earth’s orbit.

Although several plans have been announced over the years to create a wide network of satellites to provide global internet coverage, the sheer cost and scale of such a project has meant it’s never really materialised.

Other companies, including Boeing and Samsung, have also explored the possibilities of worldwide internet, and Airbus and Virgin are now partnering on a venture called OneWeb, which seeks to enable affordable internet access by launching their own satellite network. The first phase of the plan involves launching 1,600 satellites.

The application, which was filed on November 15, is for the launch of 4,425 satellites.

This summer Boeing also asked the FCC for a license to launch and operate a network of 1,396-2,956 low-flying satellites for internet coverage. Interestingly, SpaceX has designed the satellites to decommission themselves by going into a circular orbit at 668 miles in order to use up all remaining propellant. In accordance with the document filed, the company wishes to launch near 4,000 satellites. They would be launched into low-Earth-orbit, somewhere between 714 and 823 miles from the surface.

As anyone with a vague interest in SpaceX knows, a rocket blew up on one of their launch pads in September, with no casualties except for the Facebook-owned satellite strapped to the rocket at the time. The system’s use of low-Earth orbits will allow it to target latencies of approximately 25-35 ms.

High adaptability: The system leverages phased array technology to dynamically steer a large pool of beams to focus capacity where it is needed.

A speed of 1 Gbps globally is a massive improvement from the 5.1 Mbps per user global average for internet speed as of 2015, according to Akamai. It also represents a doubling of last year’s estimate that just 2,000 satellites would be needed to cover the entire Earth in Musk-branded interweb connectivity. With the announcement of this project, SpaceX believes that various companies will soon show interest in investing in the same.

When Musk first came out with this idea, it was stated that the project could take up to five years, and would require a capital investment of up to $10 billion.