As SpaceX continues to send clusters of Starlink satellites into orbit (46 on the morning of August 31), the constellation continues to expand. Cruise giant Royal Caribbean Group will even deploy the antennas on its ships in the coming months after a successful test.
By preparing the 2e generation…
Launch, launch, launch
3, 2, 1, take off! The launches of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket no longer necessarily have the honor of press articles, even specialized ones: there have already been 38 this year, including more than 25 solely devoted to the Starlink connectivity constellation. Technically, it’s a challenge so far perfectly mastered, with an impeccable rate of flights and reuses, an incredible litany of successes and even, this morning of August 31, a 150e Successful rocket main stage landing attempt.
The beginnings of the Starlink constellation in 2019, then in 2020 already seem far away, at the rate of current take-offs. Just think, over 1,200 satellites have been deployed for the constellation in 2022 alone! In the same way, the concerns and warnings of astronomers, those of agencies and organizations for the observation of space debris and collisions, or calls to regulate the sector have melted into the concert of serial launches.
Customers and profits?
SpaceX practices (brilliantly, but also with the support of the American authorities) the policy of fait accompli, while conducting very real discussions with sky observers, agencies concerned about traffic in orbit or ground connectivity operators. Megaconstellations are all the rage, customers on SpaceX’s long waiting list are happy with their packages, and SpaceX hopes to become the first space operator to make a profit from low-orbit broadband connectivity.
With 500,000 customers already listed at the start of the summer, this is a goal that seems increasingly within reach. The announcement of Royal Caribbean Group, which will install Starlink antennas on its ships, is an additional clue. It is neither more nor less than the world’s No. 2 cruise company, which brings together several holding companies and represents several dozen cruise ships as well as millions of passengers each year. The company announces that it has tested Starlink antennas and has decided to generalize this solution to its entire fleet over the next six months: a huge commercial blow for SpaceX. Transport solutions (plane, boat, bus, etc.) represent a huge potential market for operators, particularly in low orbit.
The cruise has fun
For SpaceX, which has deployed more than 3,200 satellites in all (2,900 are in the right orbit and in service), the Starlink challenge is played out on the early deployment, but also on the duration. He stays a priori more than 1,000 satellites to complete the “first phase” of the megaconstellation, originally announced at 4,400 satellites.
But the company is already preparing the second phase, with satellites much more capable (but also, if we are to believe the rumours, much more imposing). These will require even more liftoffs, including of the fully reusable future system, Starship.
Source :Press Center
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