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The parent had it right. They are over the ocean because they are in LEO and are constantly in motion relative to earth, it's got nothing to do with Sat-to-Sat
by ghshephard 5y ago
The parent had it right. They are over the ocean because they are in LEO and are constantly in motion relative to earth, it's got nothing to do with Sat-to-Sat laser (though that should enable access to remote areas like the ocean)
- gmiller123456 5y agoMusk has already said the plan is to offer it to ocean going vessels. Yes, they're over the ocean because they're in LEO, but he put them in LEO specifically so they could reach those places. Whether or not it actually materializes can be taken with all the grains of salt you would normally take with anything Musk says.
- rtkwe 5y agoThey don't have to be in LEO to provide service to the oceans the GEO sats provide service for ocean going vessels. They're over the ocean because there's no way for them to provide solid coverage over land without providing solid coverage everywhere between a set N/S latitude band. Any gap to avoid satellites over oceans would be a gap over land periodically it's just how the orbits work.
- gmiller123456 5y agoThe reason for putting thousands in LEO, vs three in geostationary orbit was to limit the transmission latency.
- rtkwe 5y agoIt also probably has cost benefits on a per satellite and launch basis because it lets them use lower power transmitters and receivers since they're so much closer. Comms sats are generally much larger than the Starlinks with the cost of launches going up because of that.