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The big problem I see is power. Starlink base uses about 100W. Even for a low bandwidth link I imagine this would drain batteries quick.
by api 5y ago
The big problem I see is power. Starlink base uses about 100W. Even for a low bandwidth link I imagine this would drain batteries quick.
- dreamcompiler 5y agoPower is not an issue for a very low-bandwidth system like Iridium, which only provides 2400bps. Starlink's bandwidth is 10,000x higher, and in a nutshell that's why they need a lot more power. Starlink also uses an active phased-array antenna, while Iridium uses a passive ("dumb") omnidirectional antenna. This also contributes to a greater power budget for Starlink.