Global Satellite Wireless Internet is still in the early stages of development. Can Elon Musk make it happen?
Elon Musk, the prodigal inventor and businessman behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX, has partnered with ex-Google employee Greg Wyler to create a fleet of 700 satellites that would bring internet access to most of earth’s population.
Elon Musk, the prodigal inventor and businessman behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX, has partnered with ex-Google employee Greg Wyler to create a fleet of 700 satellites that would bring internet access to most of earth’s population.
Wyler’s company, WorldVu Satellites, formerly partnered with Google, already owns large swaths of the radio spectrum, and Wyler spearheaded Google's internet satellite launch. Elon and WorldVu plan on sending 700 internet-providing satellites into low orbit, more than doubling Google’s efforts. They plan on constructing low-cost, low-weight satellites that will be easy for Musk’s SpaceX rockets to send into orbit. SpaceX, which in September secured a contract with NASA to send U.S. Astronauts into orbit, is already the leading private space program, and this project would fit perfectly into the company's design.
Wyler left Google due to their lack of manufacturing experience, and hopes that Elon Musk’s clout will get the ball rolling on Global internet. Based on credentials, Musk is most certainly the man for the job, seemingly able to make things happen that no one, especially the U.S. government, can. With the advent of electric cars, reusable rockets, and now global satellite internet, Elon Musk is building the future.
The project does, however, face significant hurdles. Engineering satellites with the cost and weight parameters promised by Musk and Wyler will take some time. Their ambitious goal is to create satellites that cost under one million to manufacture and that weigh less than 250 lbs. If achieved, these satellites will cut the industry standards for price and weight in half. Experts estimate that the project will cost more than one billion dollars to get running.
WorldVu is also set to potentially lose some of its radio spectrum ownership at the turn of the decade, opening the door to competitors in a fast growing market. Companies also looking to invest in satellite internet include power players such as Google and Facebook. While satellite internet
won’t be widespread and practical for a few years,
whoever controls that avenue of information will
undoubtedly control the future of communication.
-Nick Farrell, Editor-in-Chief
Wyler left Google due to their lack of manufacturing experience, and hopes that Elon Musk’s clout will get the ball rolling on Global internet. Based on credentials, Musk is most certainly the man for the job, seemingly able to make things happen that no one, especially the U.S. government, can. With the advent of electric cars, reusable rockets, and now global satellite internet, Elon Musk is building the future.
The project does, however, face significant hurdles. Engineering satellites with the cost and weight parameters promised by Musk and Wyler will take some time. Their ambitious goal is to create satellites that cost under one million to manufacture and that weigh less than 250 lbs. If achieved, these satellites will cut the industry standards for price and weight in half. Experts estimate that the project will cost more than one billion dollars to get running.
WorldVu is also set to potentially lose some of its radio spectrum ownership at the turn of the decade, opening the door to competitors in a fast growing market. Companies also looking to invest in satellite internet include power players such as Google and Facebook. While satellite internet
won’t be widespread and practical for a few years,
whoever controls that avenue of information will
undoubtedly control the future of communication.
-Nick Farrell, Editor-in-Chief