What do you think of when you see this stunning video (GIF)? In the Paramount movie, the Transformers come to Earth, several huge fireballs tear through the sky, and humanity is about to face a huge senseless disaster?
But it's not sci-fi, it's real scenes, footage from cameras set up by the Caribbean Astronomical Society (SAC), a nonprofit astronomical organization, in Anasco, Puerto Rico, and there are many more like that.
It wasn't Transformers, but Musk SpaceX's satellites that had just been launched into Earth's low orbit, which disintegrated and burned after being hit by a solar storm and crashing into the atmosphere over Puerto Rico.
Of course, it is not only this one satellite that died before it was successful, in fact, 40 of the 49 satellites that SpaceX launched into space on February 3 have fallen into the atmosphere in a short period of time and have been destroyed several times.
Satellite networking is a satellite Internet, which began with the famous Star Wars program of the United States in the 1980s, through the deployment of a large number of low-orbit satellites in space, including space-based reconnaissance satellites and anti-satellite missiles, forming a giant constellation to monitor strategic missile launches on Earth, and completely destroying them through 4 lines of defense, ensuring that the United States and its allies are not attacked by nuclear weapons.
After the Termination of the Star Wars program, the concept and technology of its satellite constellations were exploited by commercial companies to build a network of space-based satellites such as Iridium. However, due to the high cost of satellite launches, these constellation network satellites have a small number, high orbit, and low bandwidth, making it difficult to commercialize on a large scale and gradually becoming chicken ribs.
After the success of Musk's reusable Falcon 9 rocket, the cost of satellite launches dropped dramatically and quickly monopolized the global launch market.
Falcon 9 continues to mature, so that rocket launches have gradually become routine operations, but the global satellite launch market is limited after all, which makes the Falcon 9 rocket have no pot, and the development of starships requires a lot of money, so Musk has set his sights on the satellite Internet, began to deploy a large number of satellites in low orbit, and built a high-speed and low-latency satellite network.
In just two or three years, SpaceX has launched 2,091 satellites and begun to provide satellite networking services in 25 countries and regions, with 145,000 users, an average network speed of about 100Mbps, and a delay of 20 to 40 milliseconds, exceeding the average network speed of most countries in the world.
So you can know that the concept and technology of the Star Network originated from the Star Wars program, and it's no wonder that some people think of it as a space weapon system. But in business, Musk's use of the Star Network into a Reconnaissance Satellite and Anti-Satellite System like the Star Wars Program is meaningless and unnecessary.
Because there are already enough satellites in the United States, every year commercial satellites alone, they shoot the corners of the earth many times, and images of various resolutions are sold everywhere, and it does not cost much money to buy. Even if Musk installs cameras on each satellite and monitors the world in real time, the massive data taken is estimated to be useless, but it greatly increases the cost of satellites and affects the power and use of satellites.
The launch of Falcon 9 has become a routine, and more professional satellites can be launched at any time to monitor the world, so at this point, it does not make sense to let the satellite network of satellites "part-time".
It is also said that satellites can be used as anti-satellite weapons to hit the satellites of other countries, which is a power system that does not understand satellites at all. Satellites with kryptonian ion thrusters have weak thrusts, slow acceleration, and take a long time to change orbit, as do satellites in other countries.
Two satellites should intentionally collide, it is estimated that the orbit must be calculated a long time in advance, and then slowly adjust themselves to the impact orbit like a snail, and they must also be continuously monitored and corrected at any time to ensure the correct impact. Its speed is so slow that as long as one of them is found and slightly orbited to avoid it, the impact will not happen. It's like two people playing balloon throwing battles far apart, you can hit the strange.
In addition, satellites can be turned into weapons at any time to destroy targets on the earth's surface, which is even more nonsense. Just like this time, such a small satellite enters the atmosphere, and it is completely burned up before it can reach the ground, so what to hit the ground? Is it that it can hit the ground, and the satellite has no navigation system, or is it a headless fly blindly bumping? Do you throw a rock to catch a fish in the water to try?
Musk launched 49 satellite networked satellites on February 3, never expected that the sun would suddenly threaten, coldly spit out a large ball of plasma, and it was too late to know. After these particles hit the Earth's atmosphere, a geomagnetic storm was formed, causing the atmosphere to warm and expand, and the resistance of the satellite's climb increased by more than 50%, at which point the shortcomings of low-orbit satellites became fatal.
Because the kryptonian thruster was too small to overcome the resistance to continue to push the satellite into orbit, the satellite was dragged "hind legs", even if spaceX ground personnel let the satellite fly sideways, it was useless, and eventually 40 satellites fell in orbit, fell into the atmosphere and burned, almost destroyed.
But what's that? For Musk, a satellite is about $250,000, and the rocket is so cheap that it can be relaunched. At present, there are more than 3,000 living satellites above the earth, Musk accounts for more than half, this year's Falcon 9 is also ready to launch a record 52 times, most of which are launch satellites, it is estimated that by the end of the year, the vast majority of satellites above the earth will be surnamed "Ma".
The times are different, although backward will no longer be beaten, but it is certain to be suppressed, because the money is new in concept, the technology is good, and the money that goes in front is earned, and the back can only be controlled by people everywhere. The mobile phone industry Apple swept away most of the profits, many manufacturers can only share some scraps of cold burning; electric vehicles have also been swept away by Musk most of the profits, the rest can only struggle.
Can't be from 0 to 1, there is innovation out of nothing, there may only be a life of eternal catch-up, after all, overtaking in curves is only a legend.