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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Snowshoe who wrote (195856)	2/4/2023 12:39:14 PM
From: marcher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 217822

i'm just hoping that cancel culture doesn't go after balloons... too. -g/ng-

To: Snowshoe who wrote (195856)	2/4/2023 4:49:20 PM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 217822

I trust that ... - full download of whatever data was mission accomplished - the next series of research balloons shall sport improved flight / directional controls, as well as transparent surface, and with greater carbon fibre structure - overflight by landing spaceships must hereto forward be pre-permissioned - let's see what Team Russia does with StarLinks

To: Snowshoe who wrote (195856)	2/5/2023 3:36:26 AM
From: TobagoJack	1 Recommendation Recommended By marcher Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217822

... this below was fast ... scmp.com scmp.com Why Starlink and China’s internet satellite groups need to talk to each other - Research by space agency team finds competing networks could harm each other, with an advantage to the smaller constellation - ‘Lose-lose situation’ can be avoided if operations are coordinated to make sure everyone has enough room, CNSA study says There are more than 3,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with plans for a total of more than 30,000, while China is also expanding its smaller StarNet communications network. Photo: SpaceX Internet satellite networks owned by different countries must coordinate their operations or risk hurting each other’s services, a study by China’s space agency has warned. A China National Space Administration (CNSA) team led by researcher Liu Huiliang produced computer modelling that showed a medium-sized constellation of about 450 satellites could effectively reduce the communication bandwidth of a satellite network of more than 1,500. In one computer-simulated scenario, operators of the smaller network changed the satellites’ flight path to achieve full communication speed, causing a performance dip in the larger network. This is because the larger network “does not know another system is making proactive moves and continues using the original strategy to communicate with ground stations”, according to the study published in the January edition of peer-reviewed journal Chinese Space Science and Technology. The findings counter the generally held view that a larger network would have the upper hand in a fight for limited resources in space. Elon Musk, founder of US-based SpaceX, said last year there was room for tens of billions of satellites in lower-Earth orbit. But different satellite constellations often used similar radio frequencies which could interfere with each other when communicating with ground stations, Liu and his colleagues said. China plans to launch a few hundred small communication satellites to provide internet access around the planet. Meanwhile, SpaceX has put more than 3,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with plans for a total of more than 30,000. It remains unclear how these two satellite constellations will interact, but Starlink could act in a way to hurt its competitor, the CNSA team said, warning that a tit-for-tat competition would be a lose-lose situation. The early version of China’s internet satellite programme included several independent constellations, each with only about 100 satellites run by a few private companies or aerospace contractors. A small network of this size would have no chance of competing against Starlink, even at its present scale, the study found. Any action taken would result in self-inflicted damage to its communication bandwidth while the larger network would be unscathed. But in 2021, the central government established the China Satellite Network Group, a state-owned enterprise which merged all internet satellite projects into a network known as Xing Wang, which means StarNet. The aim is for StarNet to become a major telecommunications service provider, similar to China Telecom or China Mobile. But the size of the expanded network could bring the effects noted by Liu and his team into play. Interference between networks could be reduced by building more ground stations, but their simulation showed a cheaper solution to the problem was collaboration, they said. Satellites in different networks could simply change formation or the direction of their antennas to make room for others. Collaboration would involve “informing each other of the ephemeris, link and other parameters and actively taking evasive measures”, the paper said. However, the Chinese military, which controls most of the country’s space activities, is treating Starlink with increasing hostility, with a study by a team of defence researchers warning that the network could threaten China’s hypersonic weapons. “Starlink can point a beam in any direction for telemetry, tracking and control,” said the researchers from the Military Representative Bureau of the Aerospace Systems Department in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. “This will improve the high-precision prediction and early warning capabilities, and provide information support for subsequent interception of enemy launch vehicles and missiles,” said the study, which appeared in the December edition of Chinese-language journal Aerospace Electronic Warfare. “The next-generation defence space architecture cannot be built in the short term. Therefore, the US military must use commercial low-orbit satellite constellations, and Starlink is undoubtedly the first choice.” The defence researchers said China’s military could also disrupt the Starlink service in certain areas with AI-powered interference technology. “There is nothing unique about Starlink’s anti-jamming strategy, but it can respond quickly with a flexible operation mechanism. Advanced new threat learning algorithms can effectively jam these signals,” they said. The researchers said China would also need powerful directed energy weapons, such as laser and particle beam devices, to disable a large number of orbiting Starlink satellites at a relatively low cost.

To: Snowshoe who wrote (195856)	2/5/2023 3:42:02 AM
From: TobagoJack	1 Recommendation Recommended By marcher Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217822

Earlier reported on this side of pond ... scmp.com Starlink breaks space traffic safety rules and China may follow: study - Chinese researchers say SpaceX’s newest satellites are ignoring unwritten but commonly accepted 10km distance rule - They urge China to follow suit and develop its own safety limit or risk giving the US an upper hand Published: 8:00pm, 29 Nov, 2022 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, carrying 34 Starlink satellites. Photo: AP A team of Chinese space engineers has accused SpaceX’sStarlink satellites of breaking the traffic rules of Earth’s lower orbit and warned that China will be giving the US an upper hand if it does not follow suit. The researchers said two of Starlink’s newest satellites, equipped with high-speed laser communication devices, came within 4.9km (3 miles) of each other on June 30. The commonly accepted – if unwritten – minimum distance to avoid collision is 10km (6.2 miles). In a study published by Chinese peer-reviewed journal Radio Engineering, the researchers said the unusually dense formation was no accident, but the result of a complex scheme by SpaceX to maximise the performance of its laser communications. The technology requires the sending and receiving devices to stay within a straight line of sight over a certain distance, they said. Nor was it the only example of Starlink satellites ignoring the accepted traffic rule, the researchers found. Yu Shunjing, a satellite design engineer with China’s largest manufacturer of the devices DFH Satellite Co, and his co-authors said the rapid development of large-scale constellations “will make space, especially the lower Earth orbits, very crowded”. “We must establish a new ‘space traffic rule’ based on new technologies, otherwise the development of Chinese constellations will be seriously restricted,” they said. A Beijing space scientist who was not involved in the study warned a change in the minimum distance could increase the risk of a collision in Earth’s lower orbit. While active collision avoidance systems could reduce the risk of accidents, “even the best technology can fail sometimes”, said the researcher, who asked not to be named because of the issue’s sensitivity. Five kilometres may provide plenty of room on the ground but a satellite can cover that distance in half a second, he said. “The existing safety limit is based on scientific calculation. Crossing the line could lead to some dangerous consequences, because one collision can lead to another.” China is keeping a close watch on SpaceX’s commercial satellite programme, which provides internet access to civilian and military users, and this is not the first time Chinese scientists have voiced their concerns. After observing Starlink’s role in supporting Ukraine’s internet communications during the Russian invasion, a group of Chinese military researchers in May urged Beijing to develop the capability to destroy the network if necessary. When completed, Starlink will consist of tens of thousands of satellites, a network that conventional anti-satellite weapons such as missiles will not be able to destroy entirely. But Starlink’s early infrastructure has a problem: it needs ground stations to pass data from one satellite to another, or signal-relaying ships when the devices are flying over the oceans. These facilities not only increase operational costs and limit bandwidth, they can also become vulnerable targets in a war. The new generation of satellites launched by SpaceX in September last year is an attempt to overcome these problems, by using laser beams to communicate directly with each other. A year later, more than 1,400 laser satellites are now circling the planet, with 880 in active service and providing high-speed communications to some parts of the globe, according to the Chinese study’s estimates. Yu’s team said high-resolution radar images suggested that each satellite is carrying several laser transmitters pointing in different directions, allowing them to establish communications with similar devices in the same or nearby orbits over a distance of up to 2,500km. The researchers said SpaceX is putting these satellites into closely neighbouring orbits to increase communications coverage and lessen signal interruptions, with collision avoidance clearances far below the generally accepted threshold. SpaceX has been approached for comment on the study’s claims. China has established its own global laser communications network with its BeiDou navigational system and other satellites, and is also building a commercial communications network – with considerably fewer satellites than Starlink – to provide high-speed internet access across the planet. Chinese space authorities plan to extend the high-speed laser communications service from Earth to the moon over the next few years. Last year, the Chinese government filed an official complaint to the United Nations, accusing two Starlink satellites of coming dangerously close to its Tiangong space station, forcing the three astronauts on board into an emergency manoeuvre to avoid collision. China launches Mengtian, final module to complete Tiangong space station The US government denied the charge, blaming China for failing to provide data on the Tiangong’s position. Meanwhile, SpaceX is planning to carry out the first commercial spacewalk in March next year, with a high-definition live stream to demonstrate the power of laser communications technology. The Polaris Dawn spacewalk will take place at an altitude of 700km, at a higher orbit than the Chinese and international space stations.