SpaceX and OneWeb internet satellite comparison

[cro-magnon gramps]

question for the experts here... are you saying my dream of walking out my door, with Google Glass v-XXX and being able to connect with my voip contacts either singular or conference call, with internet white boarding, while surfing / reading the web, is not going to happen in the next 10 years 

Gramps

Just make sure the video of you walking into the lamp post makes it to Youtube.

Jolly joker, said in Sgt Shultz voice ;-)

seriously, I know it is or was sci-fi 30 years ago circa 1978 with Gentle Giants of Ganymede by James P Hogan, but so were personal computers and the Internet... this is the first hint I have of it becoming a reality, even if in a primitive form...
   I have been sitting on this question since the announcement by Elon... it seems like convergence is taking over the disruptor technology...
Gramps

edit if this is the wrong thread, beam me over to the correct one

[watermod]

 
If you want seriously tight beams ... there are always masers and their cousins lasers and maybe (hopefully not) someday grazers
 

[ScepticMatt]

there are always masers

Low power and incredible expensive until solid state masers become commercial reality.

[MikeAtkinson]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/574936257391894529

Peter B. de Selding
‏@pbdes
Com Dev: OneWeb moving faster than SpaceX sat-Internet constellation proposal; we're working w/ prospective OneWeb primes.

[AncientU]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/574936257391894529

Peter B. de Selding
‏@pbdes
Com Dev: OneWeb moving faster than SpaceX sat-Internet constellation proposal; we're working w/ prospective OneWeb primes.

Ahhh, nothing like the smell of a space-race in the morning!

[Mariusuiram]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/574936257391894529

Peter B. de Selding
‏@pbdes
Com Dev: OneWeb moving faster than SpaceX sat-Internet constellation proposal; we're working w/ prospective OneWeb primes.

Ahhh, nothing like the smell of a space-race in the morning!

I like this! But is it a bit presumptive? In the sense OneWeb is referring to, isn't SpaceX its own prime?

[abaddon]

Not to mention, all of those fancy satellites lying around in warehouses aren't going to do them any good.  I still don't really understand what their plan is for orbiting their satellites, it can't all be LauncherOne, and that a paper rocket right now.

[Robotbeat]

Not to mention, all of those fancy satellites lying around in warehouses aren't going to do them any good.  I still don't really understand what their plan is for orbiting their satellites, it can't all be LauncherOne, and that a paper rocket right now.

Who says it wouldn't launch on Falcon 9? Hey, if it's cheap and reliable, why not?

SpaceX would love the extra business, Musk doesn't mind the competition, and it'd probably be illegal for them to deny them.

Only issue is OneWeb's pride.

[abaddon]

Sure, but do you really think that's their plan?

[ChrisWilson68]

Not to mention, all of those fancy satellites lying around in warehouses aren't going to do them any good.  I still don't really understand what their plan is for orbiting their satellites, it can't all be LauncherOne, and that a paper rocket right now.

Who says it wouldn't launch on Falcon 9? Hey, if it's cheap and reliable, why not?

SpaceX would love the extra business, Musk doesn't mind the competition, and it'd probably be illegal for them to deny them.

Only issue is OneWeb's pride.

I mostly agree with you, with the one caveat that if Virgin Galactic offers them a material investment with strings attached saying they have to use Launcher One they may have no choice but to accept.  And for such an early-stage company, a material investment might not be very much -- single digit millions of dollars would probably be enough.  It's nowhere near the investment they need to actually go operational, but at this point they need it to grow enough to attract the hundreds of millions of dollars they really need.

[MikeAtkinson]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/575287187153010690

Com Dev CEO: Geo sats as big as this room and you know the cost. OneWeb sats to be $1M-$2M each & the size of a beer fridge. New paradigm.

[ChrisWilson68]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/575287187153010690

Com Dev CEO: Geo sats as big as this room and you know the cost. OneWeb sats to be $1M-$2M each & the size of a beer fridge. New paradigm.

It's not exactly a new paradigm -- it's what Iridium and Globalstar have been doing for a while now.

[jongoff]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/575287187153010690

Com Dev CEO: Geo sats as big as this room and you know the cost. OneWeb sats to be $1M-$2M each & the size of a beer fridge. New paradigm.

It's not exactly a new paradigm -- it's what Iridium and Globalstar have been doing for a while now.

The first Iridium sats were ~1500kg, and Globalstar is ~500kg. "beer fridge" sized sounds more like the 50-100kg size that Skybox has been doing.

~Jon

[butters]

Everything we've observed so far indicates that OneWeb wants to be quicker into operation than SpaceX and Google would prefer. 

OneWeb wants their base stations on ocean vessels and tropical islands. SpaceX wants their base stations on cell towers and data centers. They need to provide much more capacity per base station (if not also more base stations).

Google has recently gone public with very impressive progress on their high-altitude LTE balloons. This plus that equals mobile internet service. Just a few hops from Google to any mobile device.

[ChrisWilson68]

Everything we've observed so far indicates that OneWeb wants to be quicker into operation than SpaceX and Google would prefer.

That's just talk.  I'm skeptical OneWeb can even find financing at all, let alone get financing, get its birds designed and built, and get them launched on Launcher One before SpaceX can get its constellation up.  Relying on Launcher One is enough by itself for them to lose to SpaceX.

[butters]

Everything we've observed so far indicates that OneWeb wants to be quicker into operation than SpaceX and Google would prefer.

That's just talk.  I'm skeptical OneWeb can even find financing at all, let alone get financing, get its birds designed and built, and get them launched on Launcher One before SpaceX can get its constellation up.  Relying on Launcher One is enough by itself for them to lose to SpaceX.

I thought their agreement with VG was limited to (or primarily concerning) using LauncherOne for replacing satellites after the constellation is up. I'm not aware of any indication that they intend use LauncherOne to deploy the bulk of the constellation.

But I do share your skepticism with regard to financing.

[MikeAtkinson]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/577853009373319181

Peter B. de Selding
‏@pbdes
OneWeb's Wyler: Our satellite design has gotten down to $400,000 cost range per unit. #satshow

[BuzzumFrog]

Competition To Build OneWeb Constellation Draws 2 U.S., 3 European Companies - See more at: http://spacenews.com/competition-to-build-oneweb-constellation-draws-2-u-s-3-european-companies/#sthash.SfoPL4ME.dpuf

TLDR Summary: Space Systems Loral, Lockheed Martin, Airbus Defense & Space, Thales Alenia Space, OHB AB.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Airbus D&S has won the contract to build ~900 satellites for OneWeb: http://airbusdefenceandspace.com/newsroom/news-and-features/airbus-defence-and-space-selected-to-partner-in-production-of-oneweb-satellite-constellation/

Well, that should be interesting..... 

P.S. Is there a dedicated thread on OneWeb here?

[The Amazing Catstronaut]

Airbus D&S has won the contract to build ~900 satellites for OneWeb: http://airbusdefenceandspace.com/newsroom/news-and-features/airbus-defence-and-space-selected-to-partner-in-production-of-oneweb-satellite-constellation/

Well, that should be interesting..... 

P.S. Is there a dedicated thread on OneWeb here?

How big are the one web sats and how roughly expensive would that be, using Ariane 5 launch prices?/whatever working figure for the satellites we want? Talking for the sake of cost comparison here.