Technology extraordinaire Elon Musk has launched his internet satellites into space and they’re successfully transmitting to Earth.
After days and days of delays, Musk’s private aerospace company, SpaceX, successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California this morning (February 22).
On the recycled rocket were two small satellites nicknamed Tintin A and B by Musk on Twitter earlier – they’re more formally known as Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b.
Musk hopes these two test satellites will be the predecessors to thousands of other broadband satellites that’ll be launched across the next decade.
Part of his space-based internet venture – appropriately named Starlink – Elon Musk plans to use these satellites to allow the possibility of high-speed internet access anywhere on Earth.
About 11,000 orbiting satellites will be involved overall and whether you’re in an African village or a research station in Antarctica, you’ll be able to access terrestrial-quality broadband internet.
Last year the Federal Communications Commission granted permission for the project but it was only this week Musk publicly acknowledged on Twitter the existence of the Starlink broadband service concept.
Yesterday, (February 21), he tweeted:
Today’s Falcon launch carries two SpaceX test satellites for global broadband.
If successful, Starlink constellation will serve least served.
Riding alongside the satellites on the rocket was Paz – an observational satellite heavily financed by the Spanish Ministry of Defence.
Paz and Tintin A and B were deployed about 11 minutes after the rocket lifted off.
Only less than two hours later they began successfully communicating with stations based on Earth with Musk adding on Twitter they ‘will attempt to beam ‘hello world’ in about 22 hours when they pass near Los Angeles’.
Deciding to have some fun with the project, because Musk isn’t just a genius but a cool guy as well, he joked online the Wi-Fi password is ‘martians’.
He then light-heartedly asked: ‘that was a DM right?’.
SpaceX documents, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, show their goal is to have over 40 million customers subscribed to their service by 2025, which is reported to amount to nearly $30 billion in revenue.
FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, who’s come under pressure for his position on the issue of net neutrality, released a statement in support of SpaceX’s ambitions, which read:
I have asked my colleagues to join me in supporting this application and moving to unleash the power of satellite constellations to provide high-speed internet to rural Americans.
If adopted, it would be the first approval given to an American-based company to provide broadband services using a new generation of low-Earth orbit satellite technologies.
Let’s hope Musk manages to pull off his ambitious idea.
