A new generation of satellites is redefining what’s possible in space. They are radically different from what has been the standard for almost the entire history of humans hurling things into orbit. They tantalize potential customers—including governments, businesses and consumers—with the promise of fast, always-on internet access, anywhere on Earth, anytime. Thousands of this new kind of satellite are already operational, most of them powering the Starlink satellite network from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which counts more than two million customers in 60 countries around the world, including Ukraine, where it has been critical to that country’s war with Russia, and Iran, where the network is helping citizens get around that country’s internet blockade. Starlink may soon have plenty of competition, as countries and companies race to build their own internet-delivering constellations of satellites using this technology. Efforts to build such networks, often in a public-private partnership, are currently under way in China, Europe, Taiwan, Canada and Germany. And last week Amazon launched the first two satellites of what the company has said will ultimately be thousands in a network that will go head-to-head with Musk’s offering. Most of these new satellites will be just a few hundred miles above Earth’s surface, where they can communicate with the ground much more quickly than the older generation of satellites in higher orbit. Because they’re constantly passing over the horizon, receivers and transmitters on the ground—like Starlink’s pizza-size antennas—must constantly hop their connection to the next satellite to come into view, which adds to the technical challenge.
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