Satellite mega-constellation production begins

[Judi Lynn]

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent
27 June 2017




ONEWEBB

Each satellite is about a metre cubed and weighs less than 150kg


European aerospace giant Airbus and its partner, OneWeb, have begun the production of a satellite mega-constellation.

The network will comprise at least 600 spacecraft in the first instance, but could eventually encompass more than 2,000.

The aim is to deliver broadband links from orbit to every corner of the globe.

In particular, the project wants every school to have a connection.

More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40422011

[Crash2Parties]

1. Can that really be less expensive than land based radio links?

per connection?

[Lochloosa]

2. Yes, the number of land based links required would be astronomical.

Curvature of the earth and all that.

[Javaman]

3. Kessler syndrome

Kessler syndrome

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

The Kessler syndrome (also called the Kessler effect,[1][2] collisional cascading or ablation cascade), proposed by the NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler in 1978, is a scenario in which the density of objects in low earth orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade where each collision generates space debris that increases the likelihood of further collisions.[3] One implication is that the distribution of debris in orbit could render space activities and the use of satellites in specific orbital ranges infeasible for many generations.[3]