SpaceX, an American space technology company, has successfully launched 20 of its Starlink satellites up into the Earth’s orbit to complete the constellation’s first orbital shell following a launch of six satellites for testing back in January. This will allow direct-to-cellphone connectivity for subscribers from anywhere on the planet.
The satellites were launched with a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base and were then deployed in low Earth orbit. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on X that the effort will allow unmodified cellphones to have internet connectivity in remote areas, but the first orbital shell now supports bandwidth per beam of only about 10 Mb.
The founder also added that future versions will be much more capable. However, the current 10-Mb bandwidth is a step up from the 7 Mb the initial test satellites managed in January.
Unlike previous attempts to provide satellite-to-phone service, users don’t need a special handset or even a specific app to get access anywhere in the world.
Starlink uses standard LTE/4G protocols that most phones are compatible with and cooperates with mobile operators like T-Mobile in the US and Rogers in Canada. Not only that, it also develops a system to make its service work seamlessly with a user’s phone when it’s connecting to satellites 340 miles (540 km) above the Earth’s surface.
According to SpaceX, the company also addressed latency constraints, ideal altitudes, and elevation angles for its satellites among several other parameters to achieve reliable connectivity. Each satellite has an LTE modem on board and these satellites are plugged into the massive constellation of 6,799 existing Starlink spacecraft.
Connecting to the larger constellation is made via laser backhaul, where laser-based optical communication systems transmit data between satellites. This technology can leverage the advantages of lasers rather than traditional radio frequency communications. That allows data rates up to 100 times faster, increases bandwidth, and improves security.
The launch of 20 Starlink satellites also marks another SpaceX’s leap ahead. The direct-to-cell program was originally proposed in 2022 and got US regulatory approval only last month.
SpaceX’s competitors in satellite comms technology include Lynk with satellites in orbit launched in 2023 and AST SpaceMobile, which also has commercial satellites in orbit and contracts with the US government, Europe, and Japan.
Photo by Sven Piper on Unsplash
