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I was curious what Gen2 offers: > Gen2 satellites are expected to feature inter-satellite laser links that will enable communication with one another to transf

by dmix 4y ago

I was curious what Gen2 offers: > Gen2 satellites are expected to feature inter-satellite laser links that will enable communication with one another to transfer data at a much faster rate. The FCC filing says the Gen2 System will also feature other new capabilities and be launched by Starship. “[…] The satellites will be somewhat larger and generate more power, enabling them to support expanded capabilities now and accommodate additional payloads in the future...” - meaning, SpaceX could plan to offer companies and organizations the capability of hosting their antennas, sensors, or cameras, etc. aboard the Starlink satellite chassis. This will be useful to get the most out of the satellites' life. https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/starlink-orbits-fcc https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/starlink-orbi... I'm curious what that means for performance and capacity. Also only 7500 of the 28k satellites were approved (1/4th), apparently out of concern for interference.

virtuallynathan 4y ago
FWIW, this whole thing is a bit confusing -- there's the Gen2 constellation and the V2.0 satellite. The V2.0 satellite is huge, ~6.4x2.7m with 2 solar arrays totaling 257m^2. Elon has said it will deliver close to an order of magnitude more capacity.
justinclift 4y ago
Kind of wonder what they'd be like for image or signal capture, if they have a decent camera (or signal receiver) on them pointing at things (potentially also pointing at earth targets too). For "earth sized array" type of thing.
MrRadar 4y ago
One of the already-announced features of the Gen 2 satellites is the ability to connect directly to standard 4G LTE handsets to send emergency messages (similar to the SOS feature on the latest iPhone, but not limited to any specific phone model). In the US they will be partnering with T-Mobile to offer the service (probably using their band 25 spectrum). https://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-starlink-satellite-connectivity-3207661/ https://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-starlink-satellite...
- zamadatix 4y ago
  The coolest part of the SpaceX/T-Mobile one isn't limited to emergency messages. Not that it'd be a particularly great experience but you're able to use it to say "I'll be back 4 hours early, decided not to do the longer trail" or whatever.

by dmix 4y ago

virtuallynathan 4y ago

FWIW, this whole thing is a bit confusing -- there's the Gen2 constellation and the V2.0 satellite. The V2.0 satellite is huge, ~6.4x2.7m with 2 solar arrays totaling 257m^2. Elon has said it will deliver close to an order of magnitude more capacity.

justinclift 4y ago

Kind of wonder what they'd be like for image or signal capture, if they have a decent camera (or signal receiver) on them pointing at things (potentially also pointing at earth targets too). For "earth sized array" type of thing.

MrRadar 4y ago

One of the already-announced features of the Gen 2 satellites is the ability to connect directly to standard 4G LTE handsets to send emergency messages (similar to the SOS feature on the latest iPhone, but not limited to any specific phone model). In the US they will be partnering with T-Mobile to offer the service (probably using their band 25 spectrum). https://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-starlink-satellite-connectivity-3207661/ https://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-starlink-satellite...

zamadatix 4y ago
The coolest part of the SpaceX/T-Mobile one isn't limited to emergency messages. Not that it'd be a particularly great experience but you're able to use it to say "I'll be back 4 hours early, decided not to do the longer trail" or whatever.