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Starlink architecture right now is up and back to satellite as a bent pipe, satellite needs to be simultaneously in view of your terminal and a starlink earth s
by walrus01 4y ago
Starlink architecture right now is up and back to satellite as a bent pipe, satellite needs to be simultaneously in view of your terminal and a starlink earth station while it is moving. This means mid ocean won't work yet.
The satellites they are launching now do have satellite to satellite laser links, but this is not been implemented in production yet, and there are nowhere near enough polar orbit highly inclined orbit satellites in operation. 95% of what's orbiting is in about a 53.2 degree inclination.
- mlindner 4y agoI wouldn't call it "bent pipe" as that implies an analog RF architecture.
- walrus01 4y agoLogically it's a bent pipe from the POV of an individual terminal, right now, even if they're doing layer-2-like MAC/PHY stuff on the satellite. But I agree with you they are clearly not just dumb repeaters the same way that a transponder on a geostationary satellite is. The make-before-break and handoff between satellites for single antenna phased array terminal that can talk to 2 satellites at once requires more intelligence than that. The satellites certainly are not full featured routers such as the capability you'd find in a modern 1U height ISP carrier router with enough CPU/RAM/FIB/RIB for full BGP tables.
- mlindner 4y agoThey'll need rudimentary routing capability with the laser link system so I wouldn't say there is no routing at all.