EU to Launch Near-Earth Satellite Network

EU to Launch Near-Earth Satellite Network

EU to launch near-earth satellite network. The European Commission has approved a satellite Internet system plan with a total investment of 6 billion euros, and the EU will launch a near-Earth satellite network, despite the objections raised by internal oversight bodies.

The EU will launch the near-earth satellite network 1. On Tuesday, local time, the European Union announced that it plans to spend 6 billion euros to build a satellite network that can provide secure communication.

It is reported that this is by far the most detailed satellite network plan in low earth orbit announced by the European Union. The whole project will cost 6 billion euros, of which the European Commission plans to allocate 2.4 billion euros from the budget, and the rest will come from EU countries and suppliers.

Thierry Breton, Commissioner of the EU internal market, has been pushing this plan to be passed in the EU for more than a year. He said on Monday that it is crucial for Europe to have its own "satellite network".

He said that the EU's satellite network plan will help improve the security and self-sufficiency of network communication in EU countries, while ensuring better broadband access services in Europe and Africa. "... this is crucial," Brayton stressed at a news conference on Tuesday.

Competitors, such as Space Exploration Technologies, are already using low-Earth orbit satellites to build the Internet. These spacecraft are closer to the earth's surface than geosynchronous satellites that provide television and long-distance communication services, which means that they can provide users with faster Internet services. However, these satellites have not been in orbit for a long time, and more satellites need to be launched to cover the same geographical area.

More importantly, with the increase of the number and relative density of satellites in orbit, the fear of possible collision between spacecraft is also increasing.

The space exploration technology company's star chain system has launched about 2000 satellites. Amazon is also planning a similar system called Project Kuiper.

The EU has a startup called OneWeb in this industry, which is supported by British and Indian enterprise groups Bharti Global, Softbank and French satellite operator Eutelsat SA. It has put two-thirds of the original planned 648 satellites into orbit.

It is reported that the European Commission has approved a satellite Internet system plan with a total investment of 6 billion euros, which will compete with companies such as Amazon and Space Exploration Technology.

Previously, Brussels' proposal to provide encrypted broadband coverage was rejected twice by the European Commission's Regulatory Review Committee. This supervisory body is responsible for reviewing and evaluating the impact of the recommendations made by the European Commission. It believes that this plan will waste a lot of money and compete with other commercial services.

This project, called Secure Connection, is the brainchild of European Union Marketing Commissioner Thierry Brayton. He hoped that the EU would establish a third satellite system in low Earth orbit (LEO) for secure communication and Internet access. The European Union already has the global navigation system Galileo and the earth observation Copernicus.

Signals from the new system will be encrypted and provided to Europe and Africa. In addition, it can also provide backup when broadband network is attacked by network.

"As far as our strategic and technological sovereignty is concerned, this project is very important," Brayton said at a news conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

He also pointed out that this system will be connected with other unnamed satellite constellations to save money. Regarding the spectrum of broadcast signals, he said, "We know where to find this frequency, which is not a problem."

The review committee rejected the impact assessment of the project twice before on the grounds that there were no other options to be fully considered. The EU plan actually excludes other low-cost options, such as renting space on the network of commercial providers or using systems based on the earth's surface.

After being rejected, the European Commission made some modifications to the plan and promised to let small enterprises participate in the design and construction of the system, thus promoting the aerospace industry in the EU. The European Commission allocated 2.4 billion euros from its budget, and the rest came from public-private cooperation between member States and industries. As a concession, Brussels will also ask the consortium to bid for the construction and operation of the system.

It is rare for a project to be rejected twice by the Committee's internal oversight body. In general, if this happens, a plan will usually be blocked. However, Maros Sefcovic, vice-chairman of the Committee in charge of inter-agency relations, agreed to make some changes to the plan and pointed out that urgent action was needed.

The plan still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states. An EU official revealed that although several countries have reservations about this plan, they will not stop it.

The European Commission signed contracts with companies including Airbus, SES and Eutelsat to conduct technical research for the project. LEO satellites need to be replaced every five to seven years, so their operating costs are high.

The idea was put forward by the European Union after Britain acquired the shares of satellite operator OneWeb in 2020. Last year, EUTELSAT, a French government-owned company, invested in OneWeb, which led Bretton to question whether Eutelsat was qualified to participate in EU projects.

Space Exploration Technology, a subsidiary of Tesla co-founder Elon Musk, previously launched the Starlink project. Up to now, the company has launched nearly 2,000 satellite chains and applied for launch licenses for more than 40,000 satellites. In addition, Amazon has a project called Kuiper, which will consist of more than 3,000 satellites.

The EU plans to provide services to consumers in remote areas without broadband coverage. However, Starlink heavily subsidizes the hardware needed to receive services. The cost of this equipment is only $499, and its actual cost is at least four times that. In the American market, the monthly cost of satellite broadband is $99, which is about twice the price of optical fiber service.

The European Union will launch the near-Earth satellite network on March 6th 16. It is reported that the European Commission has approved a satellite Internet system plan with a total investment of 6 billion euros, which will compete with companies such as Amazon and Space Exploration Technology.

At present, there are about 25,000 objects in orbit around the earth, of which about 665,438+000 objects have perigee heights below 600 kilometers. The second generation of "Star Chain" plan will increase the number of celestial bodies in orbit around the earth by more than 1 times, and the number of celestial bodies in orbit with perigee below 600 kilometers will increase by more than 4 times.

Space Exploration Technology Company sent the first batch of 60 "Star Chain" satellites into space on May 23rd, 20 19, and plans to build a "Star Chain" network consisting of about 12000 satellites in space from 20 19 to 2024, so as to provide high-speed Internet access service to the earth from space. In May 2020, the company submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission to implement the second-generation "Star Chain" plan, and plans to deploy another 30,000 satellites, bringing its total number of satellites to 42,000. Currently, the Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the application.

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, NASA said that only from the number of objects in the above-mentioned orbit, adding so many "star-chain" satellites at a limited orbital height will inevitably increase the risk of satellite debris impact. It is necessary to ensure that the deployment of the second-generation "star chain" system is "cautious" to maintain the safety of space flight and the long-term sustainability of the space environment. Nasa suggested that space exploration technology company provide an analysis report to prove that the company has the ability to control its planned "star chain" satellite.

On the 9th, American media quoted Space Exploration Technology Company as saying that the company launched 49 "Star Chain" satellites on February 3rd, but the next day it was attacked by geomagnetic storm, and as many as 40 of them were damaged because they could not return to normal orbital altitude.

Astronomical circles have always expressed concern that a large number of satellites may affect astronomical observation. Some space experts warn that such a large number of satellites may produce "space congestion" or "space junk".