George Dvorsky
Thu, November 2, 2023
The launch of Boeing’s Varuna prototype internet satellite technology, September 5, 2022.
The launch of Boeing’s Varuna prototype internet satellite technology, September 5, 2022.
In the latest twist in the satellite industry, Boeing has decided to forfeit its license for a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, a project that would’ve competed with SpaceX’s Starlink network.
Boeing’s plans to build a broadband internet constellation are officially over. At least for now. On Monday, Boeing formally surrendered its license to build the system and paid the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a $2.2 million forfeiture penalty, as reported in Aerospace Daily, a subsidiary of Aviation Week. The FCC officially revoked Boeing’s license on October 12, a permit that had originally been granted to the company in November 2021.
Boeing had initially shown great interest in carving out its own footprint in the satellite constellation domain. Ryan Reid, president of Boeing Commercial Satellite Systems, discussed the company’s intentions during a 2021 interview with Aerospace Daily, expressing Boeing’s desire to establish partnerships for an NGSO (Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit) constellation. Reid clarified that Boeing’s approach would differ from SpaceX’s Starlink, focusing more on business-to-business arrangements, similar to the model adopted by OneWeb, rather than Starlink’s direct-to-consumer model. He added that, while Boeing was not directly competing with Starlink, its customers would be.
Boeing launched its Varuna prototype satellite in September 2022 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission, marking a key first step in its satellite constellation development. This mission was meant to test the technologies intended for the full constellation, ensuring their functionality in space. A Sherpa-LTC 2 transfer vehicle hosts Boeing’s Varuna-TDM (Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission) payload, and it remains operational in orbit.
“Our V-Band test mission provided valuable data and learning. For now, we are not immediately pursuing a V-Band constellation,” said Parker. “We will continue to invest in opportunities that push what’s possible for connectivity in space.”
The FCC had originally granted Boeing a license to operate a 147-satellite V-band constellation, with Boeing later requesting an expansion to more than 5,000 satellites. The FCC’s stringent requirements mandated that Boeing deploy half of its constellation by November 2027 (i.e. six years after issuing the license). According to Aerospace Daily, Boeing’s request to relax these deployment rules was denied by the FCC, which aims to prevent spectrum squatting (a practice in which companies hold a license for spectrum usage without actively utilizing it, potentially hindering other companies from accessing valuable communication frequencies). It’s not clear if the 50% rule contributed to Boeing’s decision to drop the project. Boeing did not respond to Gizmodo’s request for clarification on this matter.
Boeing has stepped back from its megaconstellation ambitions, while SpaceX continues to solidify its position as the primary player. But this doesn’t close the door for other potential rivals to enter into the satellite internet fray. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is actively making strides, highlighted by the recent successful launch of two prototype satellites. Other noteworthy contenders vying for a piece of the satellite internet market include the aforementioned OneWeb, Telesat, and Astra.
Starlink achieves cash-flow breakeven, says SpaceX CEO Musk
Reuters
Thu, November 2, 2023
(Reuters) -SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday the rocket company's satellite internet unit, Starlink, had achieved cash flow breakeven.
In 2021, Musk said SpaceX would spin off and take Starlink public once its cash flow was reasonably predictable.
Since 2019, Starlink has grown its network in low-Earth orbit to roughly 5,000 satellites, swiftly positioning itself as the world's largest satellite operator and a rival to satellite internet firms such as Viasat and Eutelsat's newly acquired OneWeb.
"Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year," Musk said in a post on social media platform X on Thursday.
Starlink has been in the spotlight since last year as it helps provide Ukraine with satellite communications key to its war efforts against Russia.
Last month, Musk said Starlink will support communication links in Gaza with "internationally recognized aid organizations" after a telephone and internet blackout isolated people in the Gaza Strip from the world and from each other.
Musk has sought to establish the Starlink business unit as a crucial source of revenue to fund SpaceX's more capital-intensive projects such as its next-generation Starship, a giant reusable rocket the company intends to fly to the moon for NASA within the next decade.
Starlink posted a more than six-fold surge in revenue last year to $1.4 billion, but fell short of targets set by Musk, the Wall Street Journal reported in September, citing documents.
SpaceX is valued at about $150 billion and is one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Joey Roulette in New York; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
SpaceX, NASA delay CRS-29 cargo launch to International Space Station
Elizabeth Howell
Wed, November 1, 2023
A rocket stands at a launchpad in front of a blue sky with majestic clouds.
The next cargo shipment to the International Space Station will wait on Earth two extra days.
NASA and SpaceX have delayed the Cargo Dragon CRS-29 mission launch to the International Space Station to Tuesday (Nov. 7) at 9:16 p.m. EST (1316 GMT), agency officials wrote in an email update Thursday (Nov. 1). Space.com will carry the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch live, courtesy of NASA Television.
"The additional time allows for completion of final prelaunch processing," NASA officials wrote in the update about the mission, previously scheduled for Nov. 5. CRS-29 will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida with 6,500 pounds (nearly 3,000 kg) of supplies, research and hardware.
Should the mission go to plan, the Dragon spacecraft will then dock with the ISS on Thursday (Nov. 9) shortly before 12 p.m. EST (1600 GMT), NASA added. Space.com will also have live coverage of this event.
Related: SpaceX to launch final piece of NASA's 1st two-way laser communications relay
A highlight of SpaceX's next science-packed mission includes launching a part of a two-way laser array to test out high-speed communications in low Earth orbit. NASA is looking to beef up communications capabilities and boost speed in preparation for its Artemis program, which aims to put astronauts on the moon's surface in 2025 or 2026 with Artemis 3.
The science haul also includes a NASA atmospheric waves experiment to study air disturbances in Earth's atmosphere, a European Space Agency investigation for water recovery on the ISS, and an ISS National Lab experiment studying how drug delivery is affected by mucus lining in the respiratory system.
Heirloom seeds grown by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma will also fly to the ISS aboard CRS-29 for a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and workforce development opportunity, officials from Boeing (a partner on the project) posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday (Nov. 1).
Dragon typically brings onboard fresh food and replacement equipment for the astronauts as well. It will remain docked to the space station for several months before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Dragon is the only currently operational ISS cargo spacecraft capable of refrigerating and returning temperature-sensitive samples, like blood, for the return to Earth.
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CRS-29 stands for Commercial Resupply Mission-29. SpaceX, along with Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, sends cargo to the ISS under billion-dollar agreements with NASA. Those CRS contracts were first awarded in 2008 (back when Orbital ATK managed Cygnus) and have been extended as the space station continues flying. A third company, Sierra Nevada Corp. will eventually fly its Dream Chaser space plane to the ISS as well, under a newer CRS contract.
Russia's Progress also launches cargo missions from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress and Cygnus burn up in the atmosphere during return, and are often loaded with ISS trash that can safely be disposed of during re-entry. Like Dragon, the Dream Chaser space plane will be reusable, however.
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