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Re:SpaceX hits $100B valuation after secondary share sale by BoxOfRain on Friday October 08, 2021 @12:21PM (#28801035)
That's not bad at all! I do wonder how they're going to make the tranceivers rugged enough for the wet and salty environment your average sailing yacht is found in, and I suspect the motion of the waves makes aiming the dish a challenge. I suspect the speed will drop as soon as the boat goes upwind and starts heeling!
Re:SpaceX hits $100B valuation after secondary share sale by InvaderFizz on Friday October 08, 2021 @09:29PM (#28806192)
That's already built in, I think.

My reading of this news[0] is that they're using much larger phased arrays that sit flat on the deck/roof. 100% electronic steering.

Granted, that's speculation on my part based on a decade of military satellite operations. Starlink stated that they are larger, higher gain, lower power usage, and won't shoot below 25 degrees azimuth. That says to me a 2-4x surface area, lays flat, phased array panel.

I wouldn't expect much drop in speed, even in the worst waters, except for rain fade and if the roll of the boat causes a satellite to go out of sight to the dish. In those scenarios, I think most people can live with Netflix being barely functional.

0: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/08/starl...