English

SpaceX will sell satellite lasers to competitors that can accelerate space communication

513
2024-05-10 16:04:13
See translation

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated at a meeting on Tuesday that the company has started selling satellite lasers for fast space communication to other satellite companies.



SpaceX's thousands of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit use inter satellite laser links to transmit data to each other in space at the speed of light, so that the network can provide more extensive Internet coverage worldwide with fewer ground stations.

During a speech at a panel at the Washington Satellite Industry Conference, Schottwell stated that SpaceX, as a supplier, will sell the technology to other companies.

Schottwell said, "We will launch this plan... This summer, our new North Star Dawn mission will be conducted on the Dragon spacecraft." He referred to the upcoming private astronaut flight aboard the company's Dragon spacecraft.

Schottwell stated that the laser product is called a "Plug and Plaser", indicating that customers can easily install these devices on their spacecraft.
Space companies choose to sell spacecraft components to diversify their revenue and increase cash to fund larger capital intensive projects. SpaceX is developing and testing its next-generation Starship rocket, which is designed to be cheaper than its main Falcon 9 rocket but much more powerful.
"We usually don't sell components, so this is a bit fresh for us," Schottwell told Reuters after a group discussion. She stated that SpaceX is already in negotiations with potential clients.

Source: Laser Net

Related Recommendations
  • A new type of flexible reflective mirror can improve the performance of X-ray microscopy

    A research team in Japan has designed a flexible and shapable X-ray reflector, achieving significant accuracy and higher stability at the atomic level.This new technology, developed by Satoshi Matsuyama and Takato Inoue from the Graduate School of Engineering at Nagoya University, in collaboration with the Japanese Institute of Physical and Chemical Research and JTEC Corporation, improves the perf...

    2024-05-06
    See translation
  • What is field assisted additive manufacturing?

    Dr. Tan Chaolin from the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, in collaboration with China University of Petroleum, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Princeton University, University of Malta, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Professor Zhang Haiou), University of California, Irvine, Hunan University, and EPM Consulting, published an article titled "Review on Field Assisted Me...

    2024-07-29
    See translation
  • Electron beam welding process for thick steel plate of turbine at Aachen Institute of Technology in Germany

    Researchers from the Welding Research Institute of Aachen University of Technology in Germany reported on the development of a stable welding process for electron beam welding of thick plates used in the construction of offshore wind turbines. The relevant research results were published in Materials Science and Engineering Technology under the title "Development of a robust welding process for el...

    2024-07-09
    See translation
  • The fiber laser system overcomes outdated issues through a PC based EtherCAT control platform

    In order to maintain relevance and success, companies with a long history must respect their past while not ignoring the future. This is the method adopted by Cincinnati Corporation (CI), a metal processing machinery manufacturer based in Harrison, Ohio, since its establishment in the late 1890s.The company is carefully considering technological changes. Incorrect selection of control hardware, ne...

    2024-05-25
    See translation
  • Danish scientists have created solar cells based on selenium using a new laser annealing technique

    A team of scientists at the Technical University of Denmark has created a selene-based solar cell by replacing thermal annealing with a new laser annealing strategy."In our work, we investigated the potential of this laser annealing strategy specifically for selenium thin film solar cells, and we report a new world record for fill factor, a new world record for ideal factor, and the most advanced ...

    2023-09-06
    See translation