SPACED OUT
Elon Musk plots UK boost for space-beamed internet service as SpaceX prepares to launch thousands of extra satellites
The public can make proposals until May 31
ELON Musk is plotting a UK boost for his space-beamed internet service as SpaceX prepares to launch thousands of extra satellites.
Starlink’s network of satellites are designed to provide internet and mobile coverage to some of most remote locations in the world - including further-flung corners of the UK.
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Rocket company SpaceX already has 5,874 satellites in orbit around earth for internet provider Starlink and is looking to grow that to 11,000.
Now Starlink is applying to Ofcom to expand the number of antennas in Britain to receive the internet beams coming down from the heavens.
Starlink is now looking wanting to connect more satellites simultaneous to the antennas back on the ground.
They are looking to place the antennas at sites it already owns in Fawley, Isle of Man, Wherstead, and Woodwalton.
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Getting the antennas would potentially result in higher transmitted and received power levels.
Ofcom said it is inviting comments on the proposal by May 31 before it makes a decision on granting the licence.
Starlink's residential plans for households currently cost £75 a month, with a £225 price for the antenna that you need at your home.
O2 customers are to receive a free connection boost from Starlink as the two companies partner.
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An O2 spokesperson said: "By constantly finding new ways to deliver for our customers, we are bringing reliable mobile coverage to rural communities faster and helping to close the UK’s digital divide.”
SpaceX is also reportedly building a fleet of spy satellites, with defence giant Northrop Grumman, as part of a secret deal with a US intelligence agency.
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It follows comments made by a top Space Force commander earlier this month regarding China's monster network of tracking satellites.
These satellites are believed to be monitoring western military operations on the ground - capabilities the US wants to match.
China's rapid advancement in space has pushed Space Force to start work on its first-ever military exercise off-planet, to test how it might fend off "on-orbit aggression" from adversaries.
SpaceX has revealed the launch date for Starship's third test launch, months after the rocket exploded in-air on a previous practice run.
Starship is the rocket Nasa will use to take humans to the moon in the 2026 Artemis III mission - and eventually to Mars in the 2030s.
Starlink has been approached for comment.
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