3 ms·
I recall when Iridium was going up, there was discussion about the complexity of the software that managed the pattern of transmitting packets among the satelli
by 11thEarlOfMar 6y ago
I recall when Iridium was going up, there was discussion about the complexity of the software that managed the pattern of transmitting packets among the satellites. The description indicated it was a complex software problem and they were struggling to get it right. (I went looking for articles from the time period, but couldn't track one down, however, came across MIT/Motorola FCC application for what would become Iridium.[1])
It's likely(?) that the orders of magnitude more Starlink satellites, their LEO speed, and other factors that impact optimization (amount of data to transmit, type of data, current load on intervening sats, positional changes during transmission, handoffs, etc.) can make this pretty hard. Or... It could be a learning system via neural net, etc.
The notion that the system could get faster and more efficient over time, simply by operating and without the usual trudge of scheduled software releases and upgrades, is an intriguing possibility. Tho somehow, that's not a novel notion...
[1] https://web.mit.edu/deweck/www/research_files/comsats_2004_001_v10/Unit1%20Success%20and%20Failure/SAT-AO-19901204-00068.pdf https://web.mit.edu/deweck/www/research_files/comsats_2004_0...
- busterarm 6y agoIIRC, Starlink satellites operate at a much lower orbit, are much more numerous and are a lot closer together which reduces the tracking complexity a fair bit. Also the inter-satellite links on the Iridium network are radio whereas the Starlinks have 4 motorized optical links (laser). They're highly reflective objects against the background of space.
- pacificmint 6y agoAs far as I know, the current satellites don’t have any lasers for satellite to satellite communication yet. That will come in later generations.
- busterarm 6y agoAhh, I had to look this up but you are correct.
- shaklee3 6y agoThat doesn't reduce tracking complexity. It makes handoffs more frequent and complex as the OP was pointing out.
- TheSkyHasEyes 6y agoWhat happened to the Iridium satellites?
- 11thEarlOfMar 6y agoAfter multiple bankruptcies, primarily offering nautical communication services. https://www.iridium.com/products/iridium-go/ https://www.iridium.com/products/iridium-go/