This is the Year Internet From Space Gets Really Serious

No doubt about how hard it is, the Russians I believe have had multiple failures over the last year and Europeans had a string of failed launches too, not too long ago

agesilaus wrote:
I'm reading that:

1) It wasn't SpaceX's problem, if there is one, because their next launch is still going to happen before the end of the month. If they had a problem they'd would have delayed that. SpaceX has stated their equipment worked as designed.

2) There is speculation that the launch went off as planned and NSA is trying to hide the satellite. I'm not sure how that would work since there are a lot of satellite spotters, they'd had to mask the sun's reflection off the shell of the satellite. The US has massive radars to track these things do the Russians?

3) NSA/ULA provided the connector between the launch second stage and the satellite, if there was a problem that was where it happened.

I wasn't trying to point blame or add to a conspiracy theory. I'm just saying that Space is a tough and expensive business. Getting multiple rings of 400 LEO satellites in place and operational sounds like something just shy of a miracle but so did landing a man on the Moon.

FWIW and way off topic: The only super secret satellite technologies that IMHO are really interesting are long range narrow beam laser cannons and long range E.M.F. beam cannons.

Oooops ... I almost forgot ... what interesting (plasma?) technology was that long range sweep beam high temperature cannon coming from a satellite controlled by the villian in that James Bond movie? :h

I'm reading that:

1) It wasn't SpaceX's problem, if there is one, because their next launch is still going to happen before the end of the month. If they had a problem they'd would have delayed that. SpaceX has stated their equipment worked as designed.

2) There is speculation that the launch went off as planned and NSA is trying to hide the satellite. I'm not sure how that would work since there are a lot of satellite spotters, they'd had to mask the sun's reflection off the shell of the satellite. The US has massive radars to track these things do the Russians?

3) NSA/ULA provided the connector between the launch second stage and the satellite, if there was a problem that was where it happened.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Space X also just launched a top secret, likely billion dollar, satellite and it failed to reach orbit and is assumed lost. Space is a tough business!

Yup. kind of hard to get insurance on the birds actually making it to orbit.. I am part owner of one that France splashed.

There are mobile satellite internet options available. I was simply clarifying that the service described was not available to mobile users.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
.....but not mobile......

I'm guessing that some modern satellite voice phone models may now also have the capability for surfing the Internet either directly using the satellite phone and it's small video screen, or indirectly by tethering a laptop to the satellite phone.

At least it seems like this should now be available - but of course a lot of us cannot afford a satellite phone or it's monthly service charges even if the technology to do this is available. :(

sue.t wrote:
I've had satellite internet for two years. No issues. Reliable too. Also use it for our phone because the local supplier wanted $10,000 to install a landline to our home. In the north, infrastructure is aging and unreliable but the new satellite internet system that we have (Xplornet) is trouble-free.

.....but not mobile......

I've had satellite internet for two years. No issues. Reliable too. Also use it for our phone because the local supplier wanted $10,000 to install a landline to our home. In the north, infrastructure is aging and unreliable but the new satellite internet system that we have (Xplornet) is trouble-free.

Internet from satellites in space is not unusual, as that has been available for quite some time if one can tolerate the latency issues.

What's off the charts you-gotta-be-kidding weird is Internet access beamed down to ground customers via access point equipment carried onboard commercial airliners flying randomly in the skies above us. To me, that is way more strange than even Internet and/or cellular service via balloons.

Now the trick is .... provide all this Internet service in a secure unhackable way. ;)