For the last several days SpaceX fans have been filling their social media feeds with posts about the coming launch of 60 Starlink satellites. The photo that kicked off all the excitement (reported on here:SpaceX Starlink satellites shown on a Falcon ready for launch) was captured in a tweet by Elon Musk:
First 60 @SpaceX Starlink satellites loaded into Falcon fairing. Tight fit. pic.twitter.com/gZq8gHg9uK
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2019
More context:
On Thursday, SpaceX is hoping to take a big step toward dominating the new “space race,” by launching a Falcon 9 rocket designed to bring 60 Starlink satellites into a very low orbit around earth. The satellites are part of the company’s plan to create a constellation of 12,000 satellites that can be used to provide broadband Internet to the around 4 billion people around the globe that still do not have adequate access to a quality Internet connection.
If the launch is successful, the company founded by Elon Musk will have a head start in its competition with firms like Amazon and OneWeb that are pursuing similar projects.
Security experts are warning that the new space race comes with serious security risks that need to be accounted for in order to prevent state-backed hackers and other threat actors from tampering with and taking control of satellites.
Read more: Elon Musk’s SpaceX takes shot at broadband supremacy
This is also a good time to think through how this type of broadband from space can impact your business models.
And for SpaceX we recommend thinking through the potential threats to your operations.
More on both of those topics can be found at our OODA Network Resource Site.
