No one ever accused SpaceX founder Elon Musk of thinking small, but this latest plans represent a massive step forward for manking.
SpaceX has accomplished some incredible things over its short industry, including but limited to its cargo delivery contracts with NASA, its aims to land a colony on Mars, and its successful tests of landing a first-stage rocket after launch in a development that could revolutionize space travel. But a new ambitious plan to create a network of satellites bringing high-speed internet access to the entire world shows that Musk still has some very big ideas.
The company is hoping to launch a bunch of satellites that would orbit at a range three times farther out that then International Space Station. The company filed an application with the CEO that described a plan to put more than 4,000 satellites in orbit, or four times the number of active satellites around Earth right now.
SpaceX’s goal would be to launch satellites in 2019, and gradually increase the number of launches until all of them are in space by 2024. SpaceX plans to do this via reusable Falcon 9 rockets. If the move is successful, satellite internet service alone would be profitable enough to fund a mission to Mars.
Here is a statement from SpaceX about a recent similar mission to launch satellites in to orbit on behalf of Iridium.
SpaceX’s
Falcon 9 rocket will deliver
10 satellites to
low
–
Earth orbit for Iridium
, a global leader in
mobile voice and data satellite
communications.
The 10 satellites are the first of at least 70 satellites
that SpaceX will be launching
for
Iridium’s next
generation global satellite constellation, Iridium
NEXT.
SpaceX is targeting
launch of
Iridium
–
1
from
Space
Launch Complex 4E at
Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California
.
The
instantaneous
launch window
opens on
January
14
at
9:54:39 am PST or 5
:
54:39
pm UTC.
The satellites will begin deployment about
an hour after launch.
A backup launch o
pportunity on January 15 opens at
9:49:04 am PST or 5:49:04 pm UTC.
Following stage separation, the first stage of Falcon 9 will attempt
a
landing on the “
Just Read the
Instructions
”
droneship
that will be
stationed
in the
Pacific
Ocean
.
Payload
The payloads for this launch are the first 10
Iridium NEXT
satellites. Iridium NEXT
will replace the world’s
largest commercial satellite network of low
–
earth orbit satellites in what will be one of the largest “tech
upgrades” in history. Iridium has partn
ered with Thales Alenia Space for the manufacturing, assembly
and testing of 81 Iridium NEXT satellites, at least 70 of which will be launched by SpaceX. The process of
replacing the satellites one
–
by
–
one in a constellation of this size and scale has neve
r been completed
before.
Iridium NEXT will enable the development of new and innovative products and solutions across Iridium’s
vast partner ecosyst
em. Additionally,
Iridium Certus, the
next
–
generation multi
–
service communications
platform enabled by Irid
ium NEXT, will deliver faster speeds and higher throughputs across multiple
industry verticals. A service of this quality and value is unprecedented in the industry, and is poised to
disrupt the current market status quo. Currently, the service is set to
be commercially available in 2017
and is undergoing testing on Iridium’s existing network.
Iridium’s primary launch campaign consists of seven SpaceX Falcon 9 launches, deploying ten Iridium
NEXT satellites at a time. These 70 Iridium NEXT satellites are
scheduled to be deployed by early 2018.
Iridium
is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe.
Iridium enables
real time
connections between people, organizations and assets to and from
anywhere.
Official SpaceX Iridium
–
1
mission patch
SpaceX.com
January
2017
Mission
Timeline
(all times approximate)
COUNTDOWN
Hour/Min
/Sec
Events
–
0
1
:
1
8
:00
Launch Conductor takes launch readiness poll
–
00
:
7
0
:00
RP
–
1 (rocket grade kerosene)
loading underway
–
00:45
:00
L
OX (
liquid oxygen) loading
underway
–
0
0:07
:00
Falcon 9
begins engine chill prior to launch
–
0
0:02:00
Range Control Officer (USAF) verifies range is go for launch
–
00:01:30
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
–
0
0:01:00
Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
–
0
0:01
:00
Pressuri
ze propellant tanks
–
0
0:00:03
Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
0
0:00
:00
Falcon 9 liftoff
LAUNCH
AND
SATELLITE DEPLOY
MENT
Hour/Min
/Sec
Events
0
0:01
:09
Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
0
0:0
2
:24
1st
stage engine shutdown/main engine cutoff (MECO)
0
0:0
2:
27
1st and 2nd stages separate
0
0:0
2:
35
2nd stage engine starts
00:03:15
Fairing deployment
00:07:49
1st stage landing
0
0:
09
:
0
9
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO
–
1
)
00:
52
:
31
2nd stage engine restarts
00:52:
34
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO
–
2)
0
0:
59
:
16
Iridium NEXT satellites begin deployment
01:14:
16
Iridium NEXT satellites end deployment
Launch Facility
Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex
4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base has a long history dating back to the
early 1960s. Originally an Atlas launch pad activated in 1962, 4E was in active use until a 2005 Titan IV
launch. SpaceX’s groundbreaking was in July 2011, and the pad was completed in N
ovember 2012 in just
17 months. SpaceX took advantage of some existing infrastructure, but implemented extensive
modifications and reconstruction of the pad. Part of the renovation included tearing down a 30+ story
mobile service tower and a 20+ story umbi
lical tower, and 97
percent
of these units were recycled.
The complex consists of a concrete launch pad/apron and a flame exhaust duct. Surrounding the pad are
fuel storage tanks and the integration hangar. Before launch, Falcon 9’s stages, SpaceX’s
fairing and the
launch payload are housed inside the hangar. A crane/lift system moves Falcon into a transporte
r
erector system and the fairing and its payload are mated to the rocket. The vehicle is rolled from hangar
to launch pad shortly before launch t
o minimize exposure to the elements
Wanda B. Hewlett
Wanda B. Hewlett (Contributor) is a freelance writer from the UK. When she’s not busy writing she loves to spend her time traveling, exploring and running.