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We have already talked about orbital settlement projects and a space elevator that a planetary-scale civilization could implement. In the last part of our series, we consider astrostructures which could be built by a civilization that has mastered all the resources of its star system.
In order to start large-scale extraction of the Moon, humanity will have to build a full-fledged industry there, which involves the transportation of a large amount of cargo. The use of traditional chemical rockets is extremely expensive. Fortunately, humanity knows about a space elevator.
New millennium was a golden time for the PRC’s space program. China invested in the creation of space technologies similar to those already existing in the West. Their strategy of borrowing turned out successfully. China has its own analogue of GPS, its own ISS, and a future alternative to Starlink
Since its launch in 1956, the space program of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has come a long way. The country’s first satellite launch in 1970 and subsequent decades of relative calm made China the most ambitious outsider in the space sector of the second half of the 20th century.
This state of the NewSpace market is a great opportunity for start-ups that provide components for propulsion, optical and SAR satellites, and develop their AI-based data processing solutions. Analysts from Noosphere Ventures have assembled the main events of the first half of 2023.
Military testing of Starlink began back in 2018, a year before the constellation’s first satellites were launched into orbit. The Pentagon has kept a close eye on its developments from the start, and SpaceX has apparently been waiting for Starlink to become strong enough for the military.
Everything started for Starlink in 2014. Elon Musk envisioned a constellation of 700 relay satellites placed in low Earth orbit (LEO). They could cover the entire Earth with a broadband Internet signal. With his own return rockets Musk was the first to make it a reality.
In science fiction stories and computer games, there are many examples of fantastical space structures: from wheel-shaped orbital stations to entire worlds in the form of a ring. We will examine concepts for orbital settlements that could actually be implemented in the medium term.
Over 4,500 Starlink constellation satellites are already in Earth orbit, with SpaceX planning to increase the number to 42,000 in the future. The technology has long gone beyond just a global Internet provider. Let’s recount how far the project has come. This is the story of Starlink.