Photo: The Verge SpaceX’s satellite internet network team Starlink is in talks with “several” airlines to implement allowing users to access the internet on their flights. The project’s vice president said during a conference on Wednesday (June 9) that the company is continuously developing, expanding bandwidth to serve commercial projects later this year. “We’re in talks with a number of airlines,” said Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of SpaceX. “We are developing our own airline service… we have done a number of tests so far and are looking to perfect those products to put on flights in the very near future.” SpaceX began piloting the Starlink satellite in 2018 to address the global scarcity of broadband internet connections, especially in rural areas where fiber optic connections are often unavailable. Under the trial plan, Starlink customers will pay a one-time fee of $499 for a package that includes a Wi-Fi router, self-regulating Starlink pan, and $99 per month for monthly internet services thereafter. Since its first launch, the company has launched nearly 1,800 Starlink satellites out of the 4,400 it estimates it will need for global coverage. Last year, SpaceX submitted plans to test Starlink on five Gulfstream jets. In March, SpaceX also negotiated with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to apply Starlink technology on all popular vehicles from trucks, marine ships to airplanes. Elon Musk made it clear on Twitter at the time: “We do not connect Tesla cars to Starlink, because our terminal is too big, This controller is only for airplanes, ships, big trucks “. Starlink’s satellites are in low Earth orbit, lower than the geostationary orbit of the larger satellites that currently provide Internet services to commercial aircraft. It is the technology that makes airlines choose to cooperate with Starlink over other competitors. However, the same technology is now being used by a range of competitors. Amazon recently announced plans for 3,000 of its own low-orbit satellites, and the UK’s OneWeb has also launched 182 of the roughly 640 planned satellites. Competitors to Starlink with plans to commercialize the aircraft are Intelsat and ViaSa, which operate satellite networks in geostationary orbit. ViaSat recently announced plans to use its next-generation satellite network on Delta’s main fleet. The California-based company is planning a low-orbit network of 300 satellites that will begin launching early next year. According to experts, Viasat will be a stiff competitor to SpaceX in the future.

These word-of-mouth statements are almost consistent with information from the US Senate hearing on a request to fund NASA with a figure of $ 585 million to invest in nuclear-powered propulsion technology in the fiscal year 2022. and other American efforts in this area. This means that Russia’s space nuclear energy program is not only for technical purposes, but also for geopolitical purposes. Russia’s current program has its roots in the Soviet era. The Soviet Union launched a total of 33 military satellites with the function of spying and targeting targets equipped with nuclear reactors into low orbit around the Earth from 1969 to 1988. Most of these satellites used reactors. Buk type nuclear power generation reactor, only 2 of them using advanced thermal electron furnace NPP Topaz with generating capacity from 4.5 to 5.5 kW, however, this project was suspended in 1986 . In the early 1990s, a Russian-American cooperation project aimed at continuing the development of the Topaz furnace, but this project was suspended in 1995. In the period 2000-2007, Russia also tried to find ways to cooperate with China. Nation in this field. Despite the economic decline for a long time, Moscow has been trying to continue its independent efforts in the field of the use of nuclear energy in space since 1998, and during the time of President Dmitry Medvedev in power, the This effort has been identified as a key priority for the Kremlin. The budget for this program of Russia for the period 2010-2018 is 17 billion rubles, divided between Roscosmos 9.8 billion rubles and Rosatom 7.2 billion rubles, equivalent to $560 million in 2010 exchange rates. However, the actual disbursement figure is much smaller. In 2010, only 500 million rubles ($16.5 million) were allocated for this purpose. Over the next decade, total disbursements reached nearly 10 billion rubles ($213 million), according to public information from Roscosmos and Rosatom. The results of these efforts have not been as successful as they initially suggested. For example, the technical requirements of the proposed product are an outer space nuclear reactor with a capacity of 1 MW of electricity and an ion thruster with a capacity of 50 kW. However, the reality shows that Russia is currently only developing nuclear power generation systems YaEU-25M, YaEU-25 and YaEU-50 with a generating capacity of 10-40 kW and propulsion using ionic force. 25 kW. At present, perhaps Russia is just stopping at the computational model run for more powerful reactors and engines. For comparison, NASA is still trying to design a 10 kW outer space nuclear reactor with a Stirling engine for the purpose of increasing efficiency, currently Russia is still revolving around the thermal electron model, and the problem of using Using engines or turbines in combination with reactors is still only a theory. It is hard to believe that Russia will design a nuclear reactor in space with a generating capacity of 1 MW or ion propulsion engines with a larger capacity in the near future. Anyway, Moscow is still trying to turn the results achieved into advanced applications in long-distance space travel or foreign politics. Due to a decline in space research activities in other sub-sectors, coupled with economic weakness, these problems have prompted the Kremlin to look for another trump card. While the development of nuclear reactors for space exploration is far from complete, the Russian government as well as industry is currently looking for the application of nuclear reactors to satellites. military. These satellites can be used for radar reconnaissance or electronic warfare (for example jamming) when they are deployed in low, mid or geostationary orbits. However, no tests of such satellites have yet been conducted, meaning Moscow is not ready to field such satellites in the near future. In addition, the promotion of nuclear-powered spacecraft could be used by Russian space and nuclear industry units as a tool to apply for funding, to promote a slow and risky research program. this. For its part, the Kremlin is still trying to blur its true purpose. They came up with the “Strategy for the development of nuclear energy in space by 2030 in 2019, and issued relevant policies for the first time in 1998. Even if Russian military satellites are used by Russian military satellites. Nuclear power appeared in 2030, it also did not bring about significant changes in the technical and military fields. However, Moscow is still trying to polish it as a tool to help shift political supremacy. First, Russia has consistently supported the ban on placing weapons in outer space. Second, Russia will not be able to stand in the forefront of space technology without cooperating with other countries in the field, so Russian leaders see nuclear technology in space as a way to develop. cooperation, even in times of growing hostility in the West. The Russian SPT-100 series Ion Thruster has been used on satellites since 1994.

The technology giants like Amazon, SpaceX, OneWeb continuously pour money to invest in satellite Internet. Photo: TechCrunch In recent years, satellite broadband is becoming an increasingly popular way to connect to the Internet. Major space companies are also in the race to build ultra-high-speed Internet services through orbiting satellites. Now, the field is forming a model similar to the “Seven Warring Heroes”. The companies are all moving towards a common goal: competing to be the biggest brand in broadband satellite and SpaceX’s position with Starlink dominance is being challenged. SpaceX’s Starlink project SpaceX boss – Elon Musk Of all the companies, SpaceX is the one involved with the most satellite launches. Its Starlink project has more than 1,350 satellites in orbit and plans to launch 42,000 satellites by mid-2027. Eventually, SpaceX hopes to have thousands of satellites around the Earth to establish a global network. Starlink’s Beta “Better than Nothing” was launched last October and attracted more than 10,000 users in six different countries. Starlink’s business model connects customers directly with satellites without the intervention of telecom companies between the two parties. Users register for Starlink service through the website. Once the order is accepted, Starlink will send the hardware set to the customer, which includes a tripod, WiFi router and satellite antenna. Monthly subscription fee is $ 99, and maximum download speed can reach 210 Mbps. Starlink is expanding rapidly and plans to install antennas on vehicles and connect them to satellite networks. According to the test of Internet analytics service developer Ookla, the download speed when using SpaceX’s satellite Internet is 95% faster than the normal Internet in the United States. Project Kuiper from Amazon The Amazon project is named Kuiper In 2018, Amazon’s Kuiper Project was revealed. At that time, government documents showed that the tech giant was working to build global space-based Internet services. The goal of the project is to launch 3236 satellites into a 630 km long orbit, very close to the 550 km altitude of the Starlink satellite. In January of this year, the US Federal Communications Commission approved the Kuiper Project to launch Amazon satellites into space before July 2029, and connect them to antennas on Earth to provide translation. Internet service. As of July 30, 2026, 50% of the project’s satellites will operate. Like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, also owns a private rocket and space service company called Blue Orgin. Although no specific plans have been announced, the company is believed to be in charge of bringing the Kuiper satellite into orbit. OneWeb The Soyuz-2.1b carrier missile carries 36 OneWeb satellites that take off from the launch pad of the Vostocini launch pad. OneWeb is a UK owned broadband satellite provider. It currently has 146 satellites in orbit, 1,200 km from the ground and plans to launch a total of 648 satellites to provide global Internet service. In November last year, the company got out of bankruptcy thanks to the British government and India’s Bharti Group. OneWeb hopes to provide Internet services to the entire UK by June. Its latest service will cover the highest latitudes in the world, including Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia and Nordic countries. This British company provides a B2B model, provides satellite Internet to telecom companies, then the telecom companies deliver services to customers. Both SpaceX and OneWeb launched satellites into space on March 25, clearly showing a race between the world’s two leading powers in space technology. Hughes Net Satellite team Hughes Jupiter 2 Hughes Net is the largest satellite Internet provider in the United States. It relies on geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites 36,210 km away to transmit the Internet back to earth. The main difference between a satellite operating in low Earth Orbit (LEO) and a geostationary satellite is that GEO satellites can cause delays in video calls and public calls. other technology. However, the GEO satellites are in a fixed position, so unlike LEO satellites, they will not travel in orbit but target a specific area. The Hughes Network has more than 1.5 million users and six satellites in orbit, covering different areas of North America, South America and Canada, including Mexico, Brazil and Chile. The last satellite that Hughes launched was in June 2018 and its goal is to put another satellite, called Jupiter 3, into orbit by the second half of 2022. It is said that this will be a commercial satellite. the biggest ever. Hughes’ satellite service costs range from $ 59.99 to $ 149.99 per month and download speeds of 25Mbps. The kit is priced at $ 249.99, and the installation costs $ 199. The company also offers public WiFi hotspots for rural Latin America for people who cannot afford subscription fees. Telesat Daniel Goldberg, CEO and President of Telesat, Canada’s satellite operator Telesat has 15 GEO satellites at an altitude of 35,000 km above Earth. The company also plans to build an LEO Internet called “LightSpeed”. The first 298 satellites built by Thales Alenia Space are scheduled to launch in early 2023 and provide global services by 2024. According to reports, Goldberg confirmed at the 2021 LEO Satellite Digital Forum on April 6 that the LightSpeed ​​project would cost $ 5 billion. This is much cheaper than the projects of SpaceX and Amazon, which are more than $ 10 billion. Goldberg recently stated that Telesat has the best pricing in the market. In 2019, Telesat signed a launch agreement with Blue Origin to use New Glenn rockets to send LEO satellites into orbit. David Wendling, Telesat’s chief technology officer, revealed that the company has three other startups underway. ViaSat ViaSat application on smartphone ViaSat is headquartered in California, USA, operates five GEO satellites at an altitude of about 35,000 km from the Earth’s surface. The company will put three extremely powerful GEO satellites into orbit by the beginning of 2022 and achieve globalization goals until 2023. ViaSat also plans to put 288 satellites into orbit LEO by 2026. ViaSat executive chairman and co-founder Mark Dankberg said the GEO and LEO satellites would complement each other. ViaSat is working hard to create a “multi-orbit satellite Internet where users can seamlessly use GEO satellites and LEO satellites.” In December 2020, Viasat asked the FCC to study Starlink’s potential environmental impact. In response, Musk wrote on Twitter: “Obviously, Starlink is a ‘threat’ to Viasat’s profits.” Eutelsat Eutelsat is Europe’s satellite operator with 39 GEO satellites at an altitude of 46,000 km. The company now provides Internet services to the regions of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and plans to launch another satellite called Konnect VHTS to cover the rest of Europe. Michel Azibert, Executive Vice President of Eutelsat, said: “Konnect VHTS will change the rules of the game and allow Eutelsat to seamlessly deliver powerful Internet services to users at prices comparable to the above operators. ground.” Azibert says Eutelsat’s satellite service “is much lower than Starlink, very well suited to the rural markets we’re targeting in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.” Eutelsat was founded in 1977 and launched its first satellite in 1983.