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I will probably come at a premium, but I think it's pretty much given that governments and the military will have a huge interest in this, if only for the fact

I will probably come at a premium, but I think it's pretty much given that governments and the military will have a huge interest in this, if only for the fact that you can't cut a laser beam in space. At least not without anyone seeing it - unlike undersee cables. '

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
Governments and the military already have their own space internet; I doubt the US would want to go into an agreement with a commercial entity owned and controlled by someone with dubious allegiances. They will require heaps of legal changes and certifications first, including making sure Musk does not have control over it.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  The military has already engaged in such an agreement, known as Starshield. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Military_capabilities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Military_capabilities > SpaceX also designs, builds, and launches customized military satellites based on variants of the Starlink satellite bus, with the largest publicly known customer being the Space Development Agency (SDA). > In 2019, tests by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) demonstrated a 610 Mbit/s data link through Starlink to a Beechcraft C-12 Huron aircraft in flight. Additionally, in late 2019, the United States Air Force successfully tested a connection with Starlink on an AC-130 Gunship. In 2020, the Air Force utilized Starlink in support of its Advanced Battlefield management system during a live-fire exercise. They demonstrated Starlink connected to a "variety of air and terrestrial assets" including the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. The military wants far more bandwidth than is available with their current setup, for everything from drone swarms to far-flung observation bases wanting to check their email.
  - petre 3y ago
    The military could change the specs and require the sats be equipped with kinetic interceptors. Strategic Defense Initiative mk2. Oh, wait, they already have. It's now called SDA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Development_Agency https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Development_Agency
- londons_explore 3y ago
  The militraries space internet is very slow and high latency. Think 1 broadband connection shared with 100,000 troops... They aint watching youtube over that.
aunty_helen 3y ago
Starlink is always 1 missile away from being turned off though. You don’t need to disable the network, you don’t need cause a Kessler syndrome, you just need to convince 1 billionaire that servicing a region is going to be met with force.
- sigmoid10 3y ago
  >Starlink is always 1 missile away from being turned off though One missile going into space will trigger every single ICBM early warning system on the planet. And since Starlink is not one system but thousands, trying to disable their backbone functionality would seem like a nuclear first strike. Yes, some countries could probably do it. But you can't do it without being seen, so the risk and possible ramifications are infinitely higher than for undersee cables.
  - bilbo0s 3y ago
    One missile going into space will trigger every single ICBM warning system on the planet. Most of the world's great powers don't need to fire a missile into space to take out a satellite. They've already lifted that capability into orbit. I don't believe any of those powers would take out satellites willy nilly. I think it would take open direct military conflict. At the same time though, I didn't believe any of them would 'cross the Rubicon' with respect to undersea pipelines and internet cables either without direct open military conflict. So, yeah. Gonna be fun times in the future I guess?
    - 4gotunameagain 3y ago
      > They've already lifted that capability into orbit. source ?
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    > One missile going into space will trigger every single ICBM early warning system on the planet. Rockets go into space all the time without triggering accidental nuclear war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_1408 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_1408 IIRC was blown up in an ASAT weapons test without any advance warning; nukes headed to DC/Moscow have a very different flight path than one looking to hit a Starlink node.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago

Governments and the military already have their own space internet; I doubt the US would want to go into an agreement with a commercial entity owned and controlled by someone with dubious allegiances. They will require heaps of legal changes and certifications first, including making sure Musk does not have control over it.

ceejayoz 3y ago
The military has already engaged in such an agreement, known as Starshield. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Military_capabilities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Military_capabilities > SpaceX also designs, builds, and launches customized military satellites based on variants of the Starlink satellite bus, with the largest publicly known customer being the Space Development Agency (SDA). > In 2019, tests by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) demonstrated a 610 Mbit/s data link through Starlink to a Beechcraft C-12 Huron aircraft in flight. Additionally, in late 2019, the United States Air Force successfully tested a connection with Starlink on an AC-130 Gunship. In 2020, the Air Force utilized Starlink in support of its Advanced Battlefield management system during a live-fire exercise. They demonstrated Starlink connected to a "variety of air and terrestrial assets" including the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. The military wants far more bandwidth than is available with their current setup, for everything from drone swarms to far-flung observation bases wanting to check their email.
- petre 3y ago
  The military could change the specs and require the sats be equipped with kinetic interceptors. Strategic Defense Initiative mk2. Oh, wait, they already have. It's now called SDA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Development_Agency https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Development_Agency
londons_explore 3y ago
The militraries space internet is very slow and high latency. Think 1 broadband connection shared with 100,000 troops... They aint watching youtube over that.

aunty_helen 3y ago

Starlink is always 1 missile away from being turned off though. You don’t need to disable the network, you don’t need cause a Kessler syndrome, you just need to convince 1 billionaire that servicing a region is going to be met with force.

sigmoid10 3y ago
>Starlink is always 1 missile away from being turned off though One missile going into space will trigger every single ICBM early warning system on the planet. And since Starlink is not one system but thousands, trying to disable their backbone functionality would seem like a nuclear first strike. Yes, some countries could probably do it. But you can't do it without being seen, so the risk and possible ramifications are infinitely higher than for undersee cables.
- bilbo0s 3y ago
  One missile going into space will trigger every single ICBM warning system on the planet. Most of the world's great powers don't need to fire a missile into space to take out a satellite. They've already lifted that capability into orbit. I don't believe any of those powers would take out satellites willy nilly. I think it would take open direct military conflict. At the same time though, I didn't believe any of them would 'cross the Rubicon' with respect to undersea pipelines and internet cables either without direct open military conflict. So, yeah. Gonna be fun times in the future I guess?
  - 4gotunameagain 3y ago
    > They've already lifted that capability into orbit. source ?
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  > One missile going into space will trigger every single ICBM early warning system on the planet. Rockets go into space all the time without triggering accidental nuclear war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_1408 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_1408 IIRC was blown up in an ASAT weapons test without any advance warning; nukes headed to DC/Moscow have a very different flight path than one looking to hit a Starlink node.