LukeJul 4
Space Environmentalism

"''The message that I keep trying to deliver to anybody who will listen is: We need to have fewer satellites with longer operational lifetimes. Anything that you can do to make your satellites last longer and to use fewer of them—that is the engineering challenge that we are now facing, and I don’t see anyone really taking that up.'"

Featuring quotes from our members @sundogplanets and @planet4589.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/with-space-junk-on-the-rise-is-a-catastrophic-event-inevitable-180986907/

#Space #SpaceDebris #Satellites #SpaceEnvironment

Jul 4 at 5:55pmWeb
Show threadcrazyeddieJul 4
@space_environmentalism @sundogplanets @planet4589 Anyone know why they need so many? Is it the curvature of the Earth? I think they communicate by laser. It seems like they'd be high enough that they'd see pretty far though.
Show threadMichael BuschJul 4

@crazyeddie @space_environmentalism

There are so many Starlinks because they are in very low orbits to sell slightly lower-latency links at a steep premium.

Iridium manages global internet with only 82 satellites from higher orbit.

Show threadcrazyeddieJul 4
@michael_w_busch @space_environmentalism Who owns Iridium? Not some Nazi I hope. This really seems like it could meet my needs--I didn't know such a thing existed that wasn't either way up there and/or Nazi owned.
Show threadMichael BuschJul 4

@crazyeddie @space_environmentalism

Iridium is owned by Iridium Communications; which had initial backing from Motorola before it was sold off in 2001.

Show threadD IngramJul 4
@crazyeddie @space_environmentalism @sundogplanets @planet4589 Yes, coverage footprint is due to line of sight. Medium Earth Orbit at 8000km means you get global coverage from 8 satellite, which is what O3b do. Latency isn't all that bad. Geosynchronous Stationary Orbit at 36000km can do global coverage from 4 satellite, but it's a long way so half second round trip.
Show threadcrazyeddieJul 5
@ingram @space_environmentalism @sundogplanets @planet4589 I'm not finding a lot of consumer level access to these. Iridium so far is the only one and its best speed rate is less than 1MBs. That service looks good if you really want mobility and zero down time, but not for connecting at home or as a mobile hotspot.
Show threadD IngramJul 5
@crazyeddie @space_environmentalism @sundogplanets @planet4589 Iridium and Inmarsat go through resellers and are horribly expensive. O3b is more commercially focussed, but if you have the $ can probably get it for home. GSO services are things like NBN (Australia), Viasat and Kacific (through resellers).
Show threadcrazyeddieJul 5

@ingram @space_environmentalism @sundogplanets @planet4589 I found this:

https://www.bluecosmo.com/iridium-go-exec-monthly-service-plans.html

That's not bad. Not great, but not bad.

The hardware is the expensive part. Seems to hover around 1500 USD.

Iridium GO! exec Monthly Service Plans

Iridium GO! exec monthly plans include voice and data, no contracts, free voicemail and call display, free incoming calls, and coverage everywhere on Earth via the Iridium network.

Show threadD IngramJul 5
@crazyeddie Iridium Certus is fast for maritime mobile, but slow by normal standards. 700kbit/s is all you get with the best ($$$) terminals. Sat hardware is expensive, especially for maritime and aviation. Nice thing with L band is there's no need to point the antenna, so it's really good for mobile use. Not really suited as a home/fixed solution--go with a VSAT provider for that (or the LEOs).
Show threadD IngramJul 5

@crazyeddie The marine terminal I was looking at for a work project is A$16000. https://www.satelliteworldstore.com.au/product/vf350bm-1-base-kit-vesselink-700-maritime-certus-terminal/

The Inmarsat equivalent (432 kbit/s) is $23000. https://www.satelliteworldstore.com.au/product/tt-00-403740a-thrane-sailor-500-fleetbroadband-satellite-terminal/

VF350BM-1 Base Kit VesseLINK 700 Maritime Certus Terminal - Satellite World Store Australia

1600901-1 Broadband Active Antenna (BAA) 4102947-501 VesseLINK Terminal 350 85728-001 Antenna 2.4HGz Dipole 2dBi REV POL SMA 50 OHM

Satellite World Store Australia
Show threadD IngramJul 5

@crazyeddie @space_environmentalism @sundogplanets @planet4589
OneWeb (LEO) is via resellers for business, and it'll be interesting to see how Amazon Kuiper and Telesat LightSpeed are sold.

Companies other than SpaceX offer private connections where you need to provide backhaul or VPN, as well as generic internet. A lot of businesses don't want to have their stuff directly connected to the internet for some reason...

Show threadRaymondPierreL3Jul 5

@crazyeddie
Follow the money. Smaller sats=cheaper sats, cheaper launch costs, more sats = more coverage, more profits… simple as that.

If an international body taxed orbitals , it would solve a lot of this problem. Don’t hold your breath though because this would require a united world. Never going to happen.