SpaceX + Google for Earth & Mars internet & data relay sats [ITU filing]

[Dr Mordrid]

Background: Google CEO Larry Page and Elon Musk are old buddies from way back, and an investor in Tesla. In May 2014, Page said he'd rather leave his money to Elon Musk for SpaceX than give it to charity.

Last Friday SpaceX opened a major development center in Redmond, WA. The purpose is to develop a satellite internet/data relay constellation, spacecraft systems and software leveraging up to 1,000 recruits from Microsoft, Boeing and other high tech company people. 400+ applicants were at the event, as well as Washington's governor and other officials.

There would also be a constellation of data relay satellites around Mars to support SpaceX's colonization effort. This constellation could be partly financed by a recent NASA request for proposals for commercial Earth<->Mars data relay services.

SpaceX's human and cargo Mars architecture is to be outlined later this year..

Specifics,

Cost: up to $10B
Satellite size: 300+ kg (mfg: SpaceX)
Power: solar-electric
Propulsion: Hall Effect argon ion drive (mfg: SpaceX)
Planets: Earth & Mars
Earth orbit: 1,100 km, multiple planes
Earth constellation: 4,025 redundant satellites
Mars orbit: TBD
Mars constellation : TBD
Routing: satellite-to-satellite (laser?)
Latency: <30 ms
Antenna: chip-level phased array (recent development)
Deployment: starts ~5 years
Launch: Falcon Heavy in batches

https://www.theinformation.com/Googl...ter-Satellites

Google Nears Major Investment in SpaceX to Bolster Satellites

Google is close to investing in rocket maker SpaceX, according to several people familiar with the talks, creating a formidable alliance in Silicon Valley’s accelerating Internet space race.

The purpose of a deal, which is still in the works, is to support the development of SpaceX satellites that could beam low-cost Internet around the globe to billions who don’t have it.

The price and terms Google and SpaceX are discussing couldn’t be learned although one person familiar with them said Google has agreed to value SpaceX north of $10 billion and that the size of the total round, which includes other investors, is very large.

SpaceX’s investors include Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Valor Equity Partners. The company, which has been developing rockets to lower the cost of space travel, hasn’t raised a primary round of funding in several years.

The takeaway: Google is in the final stages of investing in SpaceX after its own effort to create an Internet-beaming satellite constellation unraveled.

[Jammrock]

This is very cool. Been seeing a lot of this lately. Good for knowledge access, less so for gamers But hey, something is better than nothing.

And may I say, that is a crazy number of satellites.

[Dr Mordrid]

As far as the launches go, SpaceX and Moog Industries developed a segmented dispenser ring system for Falcon 9 which can carry 4 ORBCOMM OG2 commsats per dispenser ring, and in an upcoming launch 11 satellites will be deployed from just 3 rings in a 13 meter long fairing. Falcon 9 may well be capable of 4 rings/16 satellites. Mass isn't an issue as it's a beast, lifting more to LEO as an expendable than Atlas or Delta unless they add solid boosters.

An expected 18+ menter long fairing for Falcon Heavy could up that to 20+ satellites per launch. This 2 ring layout was used to launch 6 OG2 satellites (and 2 mass simulators to balance the load) last year,

[Dr Mordrid]

And here's the NASA RFI for commercial Mars data relay services. Made to order.

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-seeks-proposals-for-commercial-mars-data-relay-satellites/#.VL2_RyUo7qA

NASA has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to investigate the possibility of using commercial Mars-orbiting satellites to provide telecommunications capabilities for future robotic missions to the Red Planet.
“We are looking to broaden participation in the exploration of Mars to include new models for government and commercial partnerships,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Depending on the outcome, the new model could be a vital component in future science missions and the path for humans to Mars.”
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[Dr Mordrid]

They've done the ITU filing....

http://spacenews.com/spacex-opening-seattle-plant-to-build-4000-broadband-satellites/#sthash.9PKbSLUD.dpuf

SpaceX To Build 4,000 Broadband Satellites in Seattle

PARIS—Elon Musk on Jan. 16 said SpaceX has submitted to international regulators the necessary documentation for a global satellite Internet project to eventually include some 4,000 satellites in low Earth orbit and initial service within five years.

He also said Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX would not be pursuing a stock market listing for many years given the volatility of the launch-services market.

Musk did not provide a name for his satellite project, and there was no immediate way to verify what he or SpaceX have submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Geneva-based United Nations agency that regulates orbital slots and radio spectrum. Also unclear is what radio frequencies the SpaceX network would used to deliver broadband from low Earth orbit.

“There’s multiple elements to the regulatory things,” Musk said in answer to a question during an invitation-only speech in Seattle announcing the creation of the SpaceX satellite factory there. “There’s the ITU filings and we’ve done the filings associated with that.”
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[Dr Mordrid]

More shoes drop.

The investors are Google and Fidelity Investments, currently totalling $1 billion.

Remember that Google recently bought SkyBox, which plans to orbit a constellation of small/cheap imaging satellites with a surface resolution of 1 meter. From NBC NEWS,

Google said Don Harrison, the company's vice president of corporate development, would be joining SpaceX's board of directors. "Space-based applications, like imaging satellites, can help people more easily access important information, so we're excited to support SpaceX's growth as it develops new launch technologies," Google said in a statement.

ISTM using the "SkyNetX"* satellite bus for SkyBox, but at a lower altitude, is on the table.

*I made it up, sounds cool....