Newsdeck: Musk Gets Head Start on Bezos Launching SpaceX’s Satellites

On Wednesday evening, the company will launch orbital objects of its own in a key step toward creating a space-based constellation that beams broadband to underserved areas across the globe. It’s a bet Musk is making along with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos on bringing in revenue as an internet provider from outer space. Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with a goal of colonizing Mars.

Roughly one hour and two minutes after liftoff, the Starlink satellites will begin deploying at an altitude of about 273 miles above Earth, SpaceX said in a press kit, then use onboard propulsion to reach an operational altitude of 550 km. Each satellite is equipped with a navigation system that allows SpaceX to precisely position the satellites, track orbiting debris and avoid collisions.

“Starlink will afford broadband data access to the disconnected 4 billion much sooner than most would forecast,” Steve Jurvetson, a longtime SpaceX director, tweeted Sunday. “We see this as a way for SpaceX to generate revenue that can be used to develop more advanced rockets and spaceships,” Musk said Wednesday. “This is a key stepping stone on the way toward establishing a self-sustaining city on Mars and a base on the moon. We can use the revenue from Starlink to fund Starship.”

SpaceX launched a pair of Starlink demonstration satellites in February of last year. Four months later, Musk flew to Seattle to visit the team leading the project and fired at least seven people within hours, Reuters reported, citing two unidentified employees. The dismissals followed disagreements between Musk and others over the pace at which the satellites were being developed and tested, the news service said in October.

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Newsdeck: Billionaire Bezos unveils moon lander mockup, embraces Trump’s lunar timetableWASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - Billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos unveiled on Thursday a mockup of a lunar lander being built by his Blue Origin rocket company and touted his moon goals in a strategy aimed at capitalizing on the Trump administration's renewed push to establish a lunar outpost in just five years.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Zimbabwe starts rolling power cuts, hitting mines, industryARARA, May 13 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has started rolling power cuts lasting up to eight hours that will also hit mines, a schedule from the state power utility showed on Monday, after reduced output at both the largest hydro plant and ageing coal-fired generators. No Mugabe party can save this country.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Tusk sees chances of UK remaining in EU at 20-30% -dailyWARSAW, May 10 (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk said he sees the chances of Britain staying in the European Union after all at 20-30% as Britons had begun a genuine debate whether to leave or to remain only after the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Farm Assets Owned by Zimbabwe’s Ousted Mugabe Go Under HammerScores of vehicles ranging from bulldozers to Ford Rangers from a dairy farm owned by Zimbabwe’s former President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace, will be auctioned at the weekend, according to an advertisement placed in newspapers by Ruby Auctions.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Swimming, surfing and fishing banned in Durban due to raw sewage in waterSwimming, surfing and fishing have been banned in Durban due to raw sewage in the water. Hundreds of thousands of litres of raw sewage is flowing into the port every hour. Blue flag beaches will be poĺluted as well but they take measurements above waterreine by digging hole . This means measurement inaccurate because partly filtered by beach sand . Joke . They voted for this SAns cry out for equality. I fully support the call. But, most Black people, who wish to be equal to most White people, need to be able to do the same things & maintain the same standards as most White people. It’s like most SOEs, Gov agencies & municipalities are in a mess. Why?
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Manchester City retain Premier League titleMay 12 (Reuters) - Manchester City retained the Premier League title on Sunday, securing top spot with an emphatic 4-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of the season.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Sri Lanka blocks social media platforms after Muslim shops, mosques attackedCOLOMBO, May 13 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka said on Monday it was temporarily blocking some social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, after mosques and Muslim-owned businesses were attacked in the wake of Easter bombings by Islamist militants.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: South Africa’s ANC celebrates election win with street partyJOHANNESBURG, May 12 (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) took to the streets of downtown Johannesburg on Sunday to celebrate victory in last week's election despite a lower share of the vote.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Trump says the U.S. is ‘right where we want to be with China’WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States is 'right where we want to be with China,' adding that Beijing 'broke the deal with us' and then sought to renegotiate.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: Glasgow aims to become UK’s first net-zero emissions cityGLASGOW, Scotland, May 15 (Reuters) - Glasgow aims to become the first city in Britain to be carbon-neutral in a drive to tackle climate change. People who live in Glasgow should not billow CO2s.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Newsdeck: ‘Star Wars’ movie in 2022 will come from ‘Game of Thrones’ creatorsLOS ANGELES, May 14 (Reuters) - After the Skywalker saga concludes in December, Walt Disney Co's next venture into the 'Star Wars' galaxy will come from the creators of HBO's global hit 'Game of Thrones,' the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »