Despite the success of a competitor who received significant funding and already announced contracts, SpaceX CEO Elon Mask said that his company is still wary of plans to create its own network of communication satellites.
On July 7, Elon Musk spoke at the ISS R & D 2015 research conference in Boston, where he talked about the future of the satellite Internet.
"A lot of companies tried to do it and failed," Mask said, answering the question asked by the audience. "We want to be completely confident in success and not overestimate our strength."
Let's remind, in January of this year Elon Mask has opened plans of the company for development of a network from 4 thousand communication satellites in low near-earth orbit for granting of high-speed access to the Internet. These satellites will be developed and possibly assembled in a special satellite center that was built by SpaceX in a suburb of Redmond, Washington.
In May, the company filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for an experimental license to launch the first test series of satellites. "I hope we can launch the first satellite next year," said Mask in Boston, without going into details about the technical characteristics of the satellites.
Mask said that SpaceX is creating a system in no hurry. "We are still at an early stage of the project, and I am confident of its long-term success, but I do not want to overestimate my strength," he said.
This approach differs sharply from OneWeb, which has already signed contracts with Arianespace and Virgin Galactic for 21 and 39 space launches respectively, which became the largest order in the history of commercial space launches.
Elon Mask did not say anything about the terms, only mentioning that the work is still in the early stages. Instead, he highlighted the benefits of the future system, including the planned use of inter-satellite communications. He mentioned that in light, light travels faster than in glass or any other substance, so communication between satellites will allow for lower delays than fiber-optic communication. "We will have a direct path in space, where photons move faster," he said.
"We come to this with great care," Mask concluded. "But I believe that such a system should be created, since it will be able to benefit all of humanity."
Based on spacenews.com
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