Space exploration technology company's "star chain" satellite has broken thousands. What is the main purpose of this "star chain"?

Space exploration technology company? Star chain? Satellite Breaking Thousand, this star chain is a low earth orbit satellite constellation planned by Space Exploration Technology Company, which is a huge project to provide Internet access service covering the whole world. Space exploration technology company plans to build a satellite in space consisting of about1.2000? Star chain? Network, and launched the first batch of test satellites on February 22, 20 18, and started the project construction. 202 1 1 20, 60 pieces in the batch of Space Exploration Technology Company 17? Star chain? The satellite was successfully launched by Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center.

First, Star Chain provides Internet services on a global scale.

After the completion, the star chain? Global Internet coverage will be achieved, and satellite link satellites can provide low-cost Internet connection services on a global scale. Star Link is a project planned by Space Exploration Technology Corporation of the United States, which provides high-speed Internet access service covering the whole world through a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. The function of satellite chain is to connect with other satellites through laser beams, so that the network can transmit Internet traffic in a vacuum at a speed close to the speed of light, which is nearly 50% faster than the optical cable transmitting data on the ground. Among them, 1584 will be deployed in low-earth orbit 550 kilometers above the earth and will start working in 2020. ?

Second, star chains can be used for military purposes.

Star chain? The start-up customer is the US Air Force. The US Air Force sponsored Space Exploration Technology Company with $28.7 million to support the company. Star chain? Is it early to expand the planned application scenario to the military field? Star chain? The low-orbit technology verification test includes the direct interconnection between the satellite and the antenna array of the US Air Force fighter. The US military will also use these satellites to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance missions and even detect hypersonic missiles. At the same time, domestic military experts also said that in addition to earth observation, electronic reconnaissance and other tasks, this low-orbit and ultra-low-orbit satellite constellation can also be used for accurate tracking of hypersonic missiles. ?

Third, star chains can also influence astronomy to some extent.

Astronomers say that the ever-growing super-large satellite constellations like Starlink, a space exploration technology company, will inevitably change astronomy and may even change the appearance of the night sky seen by ordinary observers on the ground around the world. ? Star chain? There is no essential difference between satellites and other artificial satellites in influencing astronomical observation. They don't shine by themselves, but they reflect sunlight. And because these satellites will orbit the earth at high speed, they will take very bright lines in astronomical observation.