Galileo | SpaceX | EUTELSAT | Iridium-AWS | Indian Shakti | Tethers Unlimited Inc SWIFT-LINQ | MEMSAT
Issue 2
Hi friends,
Following the last launch of Starlink satellites, I came again across the video of Elon Musk in which he shares his vision and plan to make humans an interplanetary species. I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole about the feasibility or not of this surrealistic project…Let us assume here that this will happen in the near future. Close enough to be able to transpose the vision of our world as we know it today. Mars is at an average distance of 76,000,000km from Earth. And the light travels approximalty at a speed of 300,000 km/s. This means that an electromagnetic wave emitted from the Earth toward Mars will take about 4min23. A father who wants to wish his son a happy new year by phone will have to wait at least 10min before hoping to listen to the answer: by adding roughly 1min14 of digital processing (protocols stack, network load, routing, converters/amplifiers…) and human processing (understanding, thinking, answering)...the 56k modems are formula 1 cars in comparison...An interesting horror movie plot would be the father receives his son's answer within...1min!
We can see here how very advanced communication technologies will actually bring us back, from a behavioural point of view, to the time of the messenger pigeon or almost! In the era of high frequency trading for example, I think traders will not count among the passengers on the StarShip. Unless they want to become potato farmers (I am not refering to the SciFi Mat Deamon’s film The Martian, but to the very serious Internationa Potato Center’s Mars project).
One thing is for sure, this newsletter is safe…Friends on Earth will receive it in just 4min23 late! I can go back to bed with peace now!
PS: If you want to play the horror movie scenario game, I'd be happy to read your version of the plot (french and english languages are welcome). I'll share the most original/creepy ones next week...
Have a great week!
🛰 News of the week
👉In addition to providing a location service, the Galileo constellation also makes it possible to relay COSPAS-SARSAT distress messages from people in danger to a rescue centre. During the last European Space Conference held in Belgium, the European positioning system announced that it now offers worldwide coverage of a COSPAS-SARSAT return link. People in distress will be able to know that the rescue services have received their SOS, and thus stay calm.
👉Eutelsat Communications' EUTELSAT 7C satellite has just entered into service to support broadcasting customers in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Turkey. It is a 100% electric satellite. The electric thrusters are lighter and less bulky than their chemical parents. A fact that helps EUTELSAT 7C carrying 49 transponders in the 36 MHz Ku-band. Chances are that while watching your favourite channel, you will using one of the first 100% electric satellites operational today.
👉Iridium Communications partners with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to launch Iridium CloudConnect. Iridium customers will therefore have access to AWS IoT plateform while AWS customers will have a way to extend the geographic reach of their IoT applications worldwide. The cloud travells now beyond the clouds...
👉Two defunct American satellites, Infrared Astronomical Satellite (1983) and Gravity Gradient Stabilization Experiment (1967), orbiting at a speed of 14.7 km/s avoid each other at less than 20m above Pittsburgh on January 29th. With the increasing number of satellites, an active methods of cleaning space debris is becoming a matter of high priority…
👉In response to the Space Forces announced by Japan and USA , India presents the Mission Shakti missile at the Independence Day parade.
👉After Terminator Tape, Tethers Unlimited Inc. introduces the first inter-satellite mesh networking protocol for small satellites running on their SWIFT-SLX software defined radio solution. The so-called SWIFT-LINQ dynamically adapts to the topology of the satellite constellation to route data from the user to the gateway. “The recently-delivered solution will connect three satellites into a mesh network with data transfer at rates of 48 kbps” revealed the CEO Rob Hoyt.
👉MEMSAT is a 1U satellite that will transmit…Memes! This project is organised by Let’s Go To Space, Inc.’s. an educational organism that promotes Multimedia Engagement through lessons, open source designs and events. MEMSAT’s primary mission is to serve as an FM Repeater and to downlink donor submitted memes via UHF SSTV protocol. To donate, it is here. Target is only $50,000!
👉After several weather delays, SpaceX finally launched 60 additional StarLink satellites. There are now 240 satellites in orbit, by far the largest constellation ever deployed. During 2020, Elon Musk is aiming for two launches per month. SpaceX successfully caught one half of the payload fairing with one of its net-wielding boats, "Ms. Tree." and the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You”. The luckiest ones will be able to see the train of satellites during night (example here) listenning to the new and very-elaborate Elon Musk single!
Here you are debriefed 👌. Rendezvous next week! Until then, if you have a comment/question/suggestion, do not hesitate to reply to this email or leave a comment in the newsletter website.