Dear readers,
Welcome to Quartz’s newsletter on the economic possibilities of the extraterrestrial sphere. Please forward widely, and let me know what you think. This week: The fault in our Starlink, GPS riots, and dealing Blackjack.
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SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network is a constellation of open questions: How will they offer broadband service, and to who? Can it really compete with the capacity of wired internet here on the ground? Does SpaceX have the cash to finish building out the network? How will it avoid ruining astronomical observations, especially from wide-field, long-exposure telescopes?
Elon Musk’s merry band answered that last one this week. In a presentation at the National Academy of Sciences, the company shared how its satellites operate and what it is doing to mitigate their visibility from here on Earth.
The whole thing is worth reading, but here are a few key things to note: The satellites are at their most visible as they fly to their final altitude some 550 km (342 miles) above the Earth. That’s because of how the spacecraft is oriented during its journey. Now, SpaceX says they will re-orient the spacecraft once they reach their final altitude to make them “generally invisible to the naked eye within a week of launch.”
Once the satellite is on station, the problem becomes the antennas on the bottom, which are painted white to reduce the amount of heat they absorb from the sun. SpaceX experimented with darker antennas on a recently launched satellite, but found that they got too hot to be a permanent solution. The company’s new answer? Shades.
The first spacecraft with these visors will be among the 60 scheduled for launch in early May. The company says that all spacecraft launched in June and afterward will be equipped with the visors. There’s still more to be done. SpaceX is working closely with the forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory—which will be among the most affected—to develop additional strategies to ensure that Starlink doesn’t interfere with space science.
There are now 420 satellites in SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, and the company has talked about beginning beta testing the service within the company this summer and opening up to customers later in 2020. The Federal Communications Commission approved the company’s request to build more than 1,000,000 ground stations that will presumably be used by consumers to access the network.
✉️ Do you think Starlink will be available for US consumers in 2020?
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CORRESPONDENCE CORNER
Last week, I asked what you thought about the FCC’s controversial decision to approve a spectrum license for a company called Ligado to build a communications network, which the US military worries will interfere with GPS.
Reader Chris writes back, “If I allowed a company to interfere with GPS the US Military would be the last of my concerns—there would be a mob of smartphone-toting irate citizens with pitchforks outside my window (assuming they could navigate there on their own)….overall though spectrum is a hot commodity. Any patch of unused spectrum is going to attract attention. Even if Ligado is pushed aside now, it’s only a matter of time before someone else comes along wanting to utilize the spectrum.”
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IMAGERY INTERLUDE
NASA engineers have jumped into the pandemic response, as you might imagine. A team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed a prototype ventilator that it plans to license to manufacturers royalty-free. Some of the engineers who worked on the project are pictured below in a portrait worthy of NASA tradition.
NASA is also partnering with the private space company Virgin Galactic to manufacture oxygen hoods to help people breath without spreading the virus the way normal masks can. That’s especially important as doctors continue to evaluate whether invasive ventilation is the right treatment for Covid-19 patients.
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🚨 Read this 🚨
Despite Covid-19 keeping people away from their local fitness studios, many of their customers have never felt more connected to them. Those connections are helping fitness businesses compete with the free universe of workouts on social media.
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SPACE DEBRIS
The FCC won’t let me be. This isn’t always an FCC newsletter, but after all, it is the agency charged with regulating US satellites. This week’s controversy is the body’s decision to adopt new orbital debris mitigation rules. Just about everybody agrees a regulatory update is needed, but this one was criticized by many satellite operators not interested in higher standards; Congress, which is considering space junk legislation; and other federal agencies with interests in what goes on above the atmosphere. Experts tend to think the new rules are generally wise, but that a more holistic effort will be required to get the US government on the same page.
Dealer’s choice. Lockheed Martin won a $5.8 million contract to integrate a new experimental satellite constellation for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). Blackjack, as the project is called, aims to build on the success of private companies using cheap, modular satellite systems in low-Earth orbit. Lockheed Martin’s job will be combining key products built by other suppliers: Satellite “buses” (the basic frame of the spacecraft, its batteries, guidance, communications and propulsion systems) with payloads (sensors and transmitters) and a management software system called Pit Boss. The first satellites are expected to launch next year.
Artemis answers. Later today, NASA will announce the companies tapped to build the lander vehicle that will carry astronauts to the lunar surface. The leading contender is a consortium put together by Jeff Bezos, but the real question is what NASA asks the winning company to do: Build a lander that integrates with the Lunar Gateway, an orbital way station that may not be there in 2024, when NASA hopes to make its landing, or one that will rendezvous with the Orion spacecraft to move more quickly? The answer to that question will give us a better idea of NASA’s still nebulous plans to meet the fast-approaching deadline.
Two’s company, three’s a crowd. The RAND Institute released a report advising the US Space Force on how many rocket companies it will need to launch military satellites in the year ahead. Four companies—United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin—are competing for two slots that the US Air Force will fill later this year in a decision that will shape the space industry for years. Blue Origin has pushed the military to select three providers. The RAND team split the difference, arguing that support for three providers will be necessary through 2023, but in the future, they fear the global launch market will only support two American rocket-makers.
Your pal,
Tim
This was issue 45 of our newsletter. Hope your week is out of this world! Please send your predictions for the National Security Space Launch contracts, complaints about orbital debris mitigation, tips, and informed opinions to tim@qz.com.