Space is big, but it's also small. In particular, there are currently only 60,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit. But space rogue Musk wants to take up forty thousand at a time. Musk is worthy of being a businessman, satellites and mobile phones, as long as mass production can do the cost. If you're on the production line, satellites can be as cheap as cars. But this thing is not something that other space powers cannot do, but that other big countries still have to face. Musk helped the United States engage in enclosure movements in space, like the "Umbrella Program," which made it more difficult for other countries to launch satellites.
The Starlink satellite almost hit the space station
First, the United States is conniving at Musk
There is no need to say more about the harm of this satellite too much. Musk's Starlink satellites in 2021 alone almost hit our space station twice. If you hit the International Space Station, Musk will be in trouble. A large part of the International Space Station is Russian, and now Russia relies entirely on this space station for scientific research. If you knock him out, it is estimated that it will be embarrassing.
We all know that before China built a space station, only the Soviet Union successfully operated the space station, which is Salyut and Mir. After the construction of the American Sky in 1973, it has been constantly malfunctioning, and finally it was really unbearable, and gave up treatment in 1974. If the International Space Station is damaged, Russia can also conduct experiments on the Chinese space station. Maybe develop another space station with other countries.
But the United States is embarrassed, after all, China has not yet agreed to the Application of the United States to conduct experiments on the Chinese space station. At the beginning, the United States was strong and was not constrained by capital, and today everyone in the United States, which cannot even approve money for road construction, is well understood. If he can approve the money, he doesn't have to ask Musk to do the Starlink project, his own NASA will do.
We return to Musk's question. Why do the satellites of the Starlink project look like they have a head? This is a problem of industrial mass production. We always think that launching satellites is a big project. Because the average country launches satellites for scientific research or to serve the ground. For example, our Beidou navigation system has launched a total of 55 satellites at a cost of about 70 billion yuan, and the average one is 1.3 billion yuan. This includes the sum of the costs of pre-development, manufacturing and post-launch.
We use the Long March-3B carrier rocket for the Beidou satellite, and the cost of each time is 400-500 million yuan. This translates to almost 100 million per kilogram. But how much does Musk cost? His current cost is $1 million per satellite, which translates to about 6.5 million yuan in renminbi.
Space may be densely packed with satellites after 2030
The reason why the cost is so much is that the cost of research and development is apportioned, and then the assembly line production is carried out. Because most of the Starlink program satellites are functionally identical. We can give an example, for example, our Beidou satellite does not launch 55, but launches 100 may only need 120 billion, if we get 10,000 may only need 500 billion. In other words, a satellite only needs 50 million. This is the advantage of the assembly line.
Let's take another extreme example. If I produce a hundred thousand atomic bombs, the cost of producing a single atomic bomb may be cheaper than making an AK47 by hand. This is why the industrial products out of the production line can be sold for 9.9 yuan free shipping. Because in addition to the price of raw materials, other costs can be ignored. That's Musk's bottom line.
The more his Starlink program satellites were launched, the cheaper they were, and in the end, it was as cheap as sending iron blocks into the sky. And with the more and more satellites in the Starlink program, it is completely possible to achieve a rocket with dozens of satellites on the way. Now think about sixty thousand orbits, Musk himself used forty or fifty thousand positions. Aren't other countries panicking?
The earth is everyone's, not America's
Second, other countries really can't stand it
Some people say why is it forty or fifty thousand? 42,000 satellites were launched, and it is clear how many accident satellites there will be. What is even more frightening is that the United States is using its hegemony to play tricks. International regulations stipulate that if you want to launch a satellite, you must inform the orbit and publish the data of your satellite's orbit, and all satellites must travel in their own orbit.
But the Outer Space Treaty simply told States parties that the launch of a satellite only required notification that ratification was not required, and then it was sufficient to apply to ITU for a spectrum. This is an important reason why countries around the world launch satellites as long as they have the ability to launch them. Like Musk's plan to launch 42,000 pieces, as long as the United States does not face its own hegemony to create good public opinion in the world, it wants to launch. Because Musk himself has a military background, this plan can still be used by the military in the future, and naturally cannot be stopped.
So we have to ask another question, can China do this? Of course. China has also launched a private satellite, Feng Lun's Fengma Niu I. This "Fengma Niu No. 1" is not very expensive, and Boss Feng only spent $1 million. Forty thousand is only 40 billion. If you build a production line, the price will drop even more.
If you want to find a small satellite company internationally, it may be cheaper to launch satellites. Russia, for example, is now very willing to take over these businesses. After all, the space heritage left by the Soviet Union to itself is also placed there. If China liberalizes the right to launch private launches, let alone 40,000, how many may appear.
For example, you can crowdfund 10,000 yuan and engrave your girlfriend's name on the satellite. For example, 100,000 yuan can use satellites to play a song in the sky. For example, 1 million can accurately predict the weather conditions of a year for enterprises for free. And this is another economic growth point for China's manufacturing industry. If not, you can also engage in internationalization, and no matter which country's business can be undertaken. There are so many local tycoons in the Middle East, you can casually engage in customized services.
But what are these things called? These things are called space junk. This is why Musk's approach has attracted a round of scolding from international astronomers. Obviously, he can build a base station with a lower cost, but he is only engaged in the Star Alliance plan for the sake of the military, and by the way, it is just a name for the benefit of mankind. One day, there are so many satellites in China, Russia, and Europe that they can't stand it, that is, when he stops cooking.