It’s the same reason that Europe invested in Galileo, Russia in Glonass, and China in Baidu. GPS became recognized as a game changer and belong reliant on a potential adversary was not an option. Plus, all local players wanted a piece of that sweet milspec spending.
Some thing with satellite comms. Everyone is suddenly awake to the potential of Starlink, also wants a part of the sweet LEO action, especially if it involves a lot of launches, whose infrastructure keeps a lot of folk fully busy.
The big ??? in my mind is how performant iris will be vs. starlink and how quickly they can bring costs down. There is no point building another Iridium with its limited number of customers, low bandwidth, expensive terminals, and a balance sheet that only made sense after discharging the first round of debt via bankruptcy.
What Starlink illustrated brilliantly was the dual use nature of a lot of satellites being able to route information among themselves, reliably, and at scale. Iris can follow those footsteps but a key enabler was being able to launch rockets cheaply and here Starlink has an inherent cost advantage since it’s vertically integrated.
Yep. FWIW, Starlink exists to give SpaceX a reliable revenue stream that isn’t dependent on government contracts. I don’t care for Musk these days but it’s a lot more than his “side hustle.”
It’s the same reason that Europe invested in Galileo, Russia in Glonass, and China in Baidu. GPS became recognized as a game changer and belong reliant on a potential adversary was not an option. Plus, all local players wanted a piece of that sweet milspec spending.
Some thing with satellite comms. Everyone is suddenly awake to the potential of Starlink, also wants a part of the sweet LEO action, especially if it involves a lot of launches, whose infrastructure keeps a lot of folk fully busy.
The big ??? in my mind is how performant iris will be vs. starlink and how quickly they can bring costs down. There is no point building another Iridium with its limited number of customers, low bandwidth, expensive terminals, and a balance sheet that only made sense after discharging the first round of debt via bankruptcy.
What Starlink illustrated brilliantly was the dual use nature of a lot of satellites being able to route information among themselves, reliably, and at scale. Iris can follow those footsteps but a key enabler was being able to launch rockets cheaply and here Starlink has an inherent cost advantage since it’s vertically integrated.
Yep. FWIW, Starlink exists to give SpaceX a reliable revenue stream that isn’t dependent on government contracts. I don’t care for Musk these days but it’s a lot more than his “side hustle.”
Fascinating. I imagine a 'European ' union that stretches from ukraine to british columbia. Just a few years from now.
Nice article Wes. I wondered what Ukraine’s options were going to be once Musk pulled his crap the first time.
A comparison of a known known and a known unknown?