Musk takes first step towards SpaceX broadband vision

SpaceX has kicked off its satellite broadband mission with the launch of 60 assets, all of which are now online.

The Elon Musk business has a vision to create an alternative offering for the broadband industry, relying on a monstrous number of assets floating at an operational altitude of 550km above the earth. The ‘Starlink Network’ is only just beginning, with Musk suggesting it would take another six missions to begin offering sparse services, while mediocre connectivity will only be delivered after a further twelve launches.

Even before Musk’s internet vision can begin to become reality, SpaceX will have to launch a further 720 satellites into orbit.

One of the big questions which remains is how congested the skies will get before too long. As it currently stands, there are roughly 2,000 satellites orbiting the earth, a number which causes some unease already. Considering Musk plans to have 12,000 in operation to deliver a broadband solution to the industry, the skies are going to be getting very crowded.

Started in 2002, SpaceX now employs more than 6,000 people with three launch sites in California, Texas and Florida. The firm is now one of several which has the ambition of creating mega-constellations to deliver connectivity, Amazon is another with its Project Kuiper and British start-up OneWeb has also launched its own satellites.

The mission started at 22.30 local time at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Musk announced that approximately one hour and two minutes after lift-off, the Starlink satellites were deployed at an altitude of 440km, with on-board propulsion systems taking the assets to operational altitude of 550km.

While this does sounds like a very ambitious venture for Musk, this is only a means to an end. The proceeds from delivering broadband connectivity will be used to fuel future, grander missions, such as Musk’s desire to colonise the Moon and Mars…