SPACE X

Company installed antennas to test the Starlink satellite Internet

At SpaceX's private space plant in southern Texas, the user terminals of the Starlink global satellite system were first seen.
Remember that SpaceX is preparing to start beta testing the Starlink satellite Internet system.
Unlike existing satellite Internet systems located in much higher orbits, including geostationary orbits, where the spacecraft actually appears to fly above a fixed point on Earth, Starlink satellites are much lower - in low Earth orbit. Therefore, it has become much more difficult to create terrestrial antennas for this group of the Internet.
The only truly viable solution is a phased array terminal. The problem is that, while phased array antennas have dropped in price over the past five years, the current price for existing solutions is much higher than the mass market price. For the vast majority of users, the cost of paying for satellite services of several thousand dollars a month is simply not affordable.



In other words, to ensure Starlink's viability, regardless of the quality or availability of satellites, SpaceX needs to find a way to provide millions of user terminals that are much more functional and as good or better as $5,000 antennas. , $10,000 or even more.
In addition to the fact that Starlink user terminals must be at least 5 to 10 times cheaper than comparable alternatives, they must also be very reliable and easy to set up.

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