SpaceX is ramping up for the implementation of Starlink v. 2.0. The new and improved Starlink will vastly expand coverage across the globe and improve internet access for RVers in remote locations.
Starlink 2.0
“Starlink 2.0 is an order of magnitude better and more capable than v. 1.0,” says Elon Musk.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been talking and tweeting about some of the details of the second-generation Starlink, which involves bigger, more capable satellites and the need to deploy a bigger rocket to launch them.
The current Starlink constellation consists of approximately 2,400 first-generation satellites in low-earth orbit. Each weighs about 573 lbs. The Starlink 2.0 orbiters will be 23 feet long and weigh 2,750 lbs. This presents SpaceX with a technical problem—its current Falcon 9 rocket cannot launch payloads of that size. The bigger satellites will be launched using SpaceX Starship, which can deliver 120 satellites into orbit on each reusable rocket launch. Musk says the pace of launches will increase and reiterated that the number of satellites would ultimately exceed 30,000. SpaceX has previously stated that the constellation would eventually expand to as many as 42,000 units.
With the advent of Starlink 2.0, Musk says not only will coverage improve, but data speeds will increase and latency will decrease. The improvements in speed and latency are due to the Starlink v. 2.0 inter-satellite laser communications capability that eliminates the need for routing data through ground stations.
While SpaceX continues its breathtaking pace in innovation, overcoming technical challenges, the company is hampered by U.S. federal regulatory obstacles. The Federal Aviation Administration has been plodding through a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) since early 2020 on the environmental impact of the SpaceX launch site in Texas. SpaceX says that it expects the PEA in mid-June. Similarly, SpaceX is waiting out a protracted delay in obtaining needed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses and approvals.
More recent Starlink news:
- SpaceX introduces Starlink RV internet for RVers
- Chinese scientists at work on means to destroy Starlink
##RVT1056b
If you have unlimited data on your cell service, and you simply buy an HDMI adapter that plugs into your TV, and the other end to your cell phone. You also can get an adapter, that allows two items to be plugged in, so you can also keep charging your cell phone, while you’re watching TV. It’s about $17 for one item and about $12 for the other item (we ordered from Amazon) and we watch the same TV, such as; Prime, Netflix, Acorn, HULU, Britbox and YouTube that we see on our home TV. We can get all for no additional monthly charge on our cell phone, which whatever is showing on the cell phone, is mirrored up onto the television! We couldn’t stand the dish TV (even though we had all the fanciest satellite equipment) and this is actually great! Sure beats $70 to $99 per month for satellite!
Good one, bruddah!
To get SL you have to pay $99 to get on the wait-list. SL for RV is at the bottom of the plans SL offers meaning RV service is de-prioritized; sometimes very slow or non existant. You have to fork out over $680 for equipment, shipping, taxes & the first months service ($135). If you have problems there is no chat, no phone #, no text. They do have an email. If the service doesn’t work for you, you have to return the equipment in the original boxes with in 30 days and you eat the 1st month of service plus pay the return shipping and ins. The satellite they send can not be mounted on your RV so you can’t use it when you are driving. You can’t be parked near trees or structures. There are so many can’ts, the service is lacking and the initial money output made me decide SL doesn’t have it together for the RV customer yet. When they do, I’ll look at their service and products again. Thanks for a feeble try Elon Musk.
Thank you! That’s really important information. You stopped me from trying to research this option further for the time being.
DesertPearl, My experience was not positive…but some people seem to be satisfied. We all need to do our own research but they (companies) don’t make it easy. They oversimplify and convolute.
The service availability percentages just aren’t there yet. If you have cellular or other broadband…do not turn them off for SL….if you have nothing then SL is better than nothing….
Can you imagine what will happen when these Starlinks satellites get old and decommissioned? The amount of space garbage we will have will be amazing. More to do for the space archaeologists.
Meanwhile, we got our Starlink a couple of weeks ago and are enjoying it. We used it in IN, WI and MN with mixed results, sometimes it’s very fast other times we just watch the arrow go round and round. We are going west so it should all improve soon.
I’m surprised we don’t have any ‘satellite collisions’ out there what with the tens of thousands of satellites that have been put into orbit. Or maybe there HAVE been a few but we just haven’t heard about them. I know there’s a lot of room up there, and satellites orbit at different altitudes but still. I remember seeing a map of satellites in “Air and Space” magazine back in the 80’s and it was crowded THEN.
Space junk is a serious problem especially in the popular low earth orbit:
“How many pieces of junk are orbiting Earth now? How can we clean up that space junk? As of January 2019, more than 128 million pieces of debris smaller than 1 cm (0.4 in), about 900,000 pieces of debris 1–10 cm, and around 34,000 of pieces larger than 10 cm (3.9 in) were estimated to be in orbit around the Earth.”
The ISS frequently has to make small adjustments to avoid debris from prior satellite collisions (most caused by Russian and Chinese ‘killer sat’ tests). Fortunately, new rules for satellites ensure they don’t leave upper stages in orbit and have an end-of-life plan to de-orbit and burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere when they are no longer useful. Space-X adheres to all this.
There are also several companies working on space junk solutions, such as shooting lasers at space junk to slow it down slightly so that it de-orbits and burns up.