Broadband provided by low earth orbit satellites could soon be cheaper than fiber networks, said Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a transformation that would be a boon to the Pentagon\u2019s efforts to put its own assets in LEO constellations for missile warning capabilities, communications and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ongoing miniaturization of satellites along with developments in rocket technology are lowering costs of building and launching large constellations, making them increasingly attractive to the commercial sector, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSatellites are becoming smaller, so miniaturization is a key piece of what\u2019s happening in the satellite sector,\u201d said Selva during a June 28 conversation at the Brookings Institute. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just miniaturization. It\u2019s integration, so the capacity to make a small satellite that will do multiple things. Similarly, if you want to specialize that same satellite, the integration of sensors into storage and transmission methodologies that allow you to build a much more elegant sensor on a smaller platform that demands less power. And so the value of each pound you put in space is rising. So the value of each satellite is going up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you can imagine in your mind\u2019s eye launching a school bus-sized satellite or a collection of beer keg-sized satellites, that\u2019s an entirely different architecture. So the value per pound of what\u2019s going into space has gone way up,\u201d said Selva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multiple companies have filed plans to launch constellations with hundreds of satellites to provide commercial broadband services. SpaceX, for instance, launched 60 small satellites into LEO in May as part of Starlink, a constellation of thousands of satellites capable of providing global broadband. Facebook, OneWeb, Telesat and Amazon are all pursuing similar projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selva\u2019s comments seem to line up with the aspirations of DARPA\u2019s Blackjack program. Blackjack envisions about 20 small satellites placed within a commercial constellation, with each satellite hosting multiple Department of Defense payloads, from missile warning to communications systems. In doing so, Blackjack takes advantage of both miniaturization and integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Space Development Agency, a new organization created to develop how the Pentagon will organize its assets in space, appears to support the Blackjack vision. In its brief existence, the SDA has released a notional space architecture that would build on Blackjack, using multiple LEO constellations to host DoD payloads and replace larger single-purpose satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other development Selva credits with making LEO constellations more affordable is rocket technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re turning a corner in two ways in the development of new rocket technologies. One is simplicity. So imagine a 3-D printed, disposable rocket that has no moving parts. Those actually exist,\u201d said Selva. \u201cThey\u2019re capable of launching a set of satellites, a collection of about 1,500 kg of beer keg-sized satellites, every six days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other end of the spectrum, said Selva, are companies using autonomous landing technology to create reusable rockets. Both SpaceX and Blue Origen have successfully landed reusable rockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fact that we don\u2019t have to replace all that hardware actually gives you a model that says over time, you reduce the price per pound of quality that you put into orbit. And that makes possible conversations like broadly distributed low earth orbit constellations that can provide broadband internet on a global scale. People imagined that in the late \u201990s, but because it was so expensive to put a satellite on orbit fiber killed the satellite constellations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The replacement of fiber networks with satellite broadband could become a reality if satellites continue trending towards affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe may be approaching a break point in the cost of the technologies that says proliferating low earth orbit constellation of broadband internet satellites will be much more useful that a web of fiber that circles the earth,\u201d said Selva. \u201cI\u2019m not suggesting for the moment that that\u2019s an absolute, but when you get to that break point you\u2019re in a different business model.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Space Development Agency could take advantage of commercial broadband constellations enabled by falling satellite costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":37,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"10":{"categories":["military-space-report","newsletters","space"],"primary_category":"military-space-report"}}},"categories":[7,106,29,32,37],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3143],"class_list":["post-26552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battlefield-tech","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XFVFXI3TDZBALDF57WHO27RZCI","arc_canonical_url":"\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2019\/07\/17\/are-leo-satellites-approaching-a-breaking-point-for-the-pentagon\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n