The SpaceX Starship launching tomorrow will enable a new generation of larger Gen 3 Starlink satellites. They will weigh over 2 tons and will unfold to a wingspan of 60 meters for larger antennas and solar panels. The space station is about 75 meters wide while the SpaceX Gen 3 will have a 60 meters wingspan from a 7-8 meter base.
The SpaceX Starship will have more powerful Raptor engines and could launch 200 tons at a time. This could be enough for 100 Gen 3 Starlink satellites.
The International Space Station weighs about 420 tons.
SpaceX with Starship will launch a Space Station worth of payload in two launches.
ISS is 74 meters (243 feet) long by 110 meters wide. The 100 Gen 3 satellites per launch would be 60 meters long and 7-8 meters wide. The deployed area laid together would be 60 meters by 700 meters. It will be five times the satellite area compared to the area of the ISS.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
[ interesting that Starlink devices use(d) cheap (told factor to standard space solar cells ~ 1:500) solar cells for cost reduction, comparable to residual roof top silicon or Tesla solar roof cell types
‘https://web.archive.org/web/20211102134305/https://techtaiwan.com/20211101/tesla-lfp-taiwan/ ‘ (in contrary to Gallium arsenide-based solar cells for more long duration satellite use) ]
It will look more interesting
The Sat’s in the art picture are very shiny. Dunno what the night sky will look like with so many in orbit.
Progress. It will look like progress.
I guess. Me and my boys like having a walk out in the evening when the ISS is passing over. Maybe once a month. The novelty will wear off quickly once hundreds, thousands, of ISS sized solar panels are flying overhead. Just so long as the don’t coalesce into a Pepsi logo, or a celestial X.
[ ISS practices international cooperation, even when all global humanity is in constraints in their political relations. That’s a value on its own for this and next centuries. ]
they will coalesce into the smirky face of donald trump to upset your liberal neighbours.
Not all progress is in the right direction, mind. Starlink will be good once it can compete with European fibre on price, but it won’t be worth it to lose the night sky.
We already lost the night sky for most people due to night illumination.
It won’t ever compete with fiber to the home on price in densely populated areas. It may compete with some long distance fiber on latency for priority packets.