The new space race has reached sea level. With over 6,000 Starlink satellites already in orbit, can Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper play catch-up\u2014and ultimately provide a better deal for mariners?Space is back in fashion, and with media interest at a level not seen since the days of the Apollo lunar missions it can be difficult to keep up. Whether it\u2019s SpaceX\u2019s seemingly hit-and-miss approach to flight testing, or NASA\u2019s declared aim to return people to the moon, there\u2019s plenty to take in.
\nSo, when details started to appear of a rival satellite-driven internet system to Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink from Amazon guru Jeff Bezos in the form of Project Kuiper you could be forgiven for rolling your eyes at yet another display of wealth and ego. Or could a new, deep-pocketed player in the satcom scene provide more opportunities and a better deal for those of us down at sea level?
\nSurely Musk has this market stitched up, with over 6,000 satellites already in orbit? Starlink already boasts having over 75,000 commercial and leisure seaborne vessels served by its system. Yet, while the headlines may have been made by SpaceX\u2019s triumphs and sometimes spectacular failures, Project Kuiper has been quietly getting on with it.
\nDetails are still emerging, but the pitch is that Amazon wants to provide internet connectivity to those who currently have limited or no internet access. Its emphasis is on less-developed countries and people living in remote areas \u2013 which presumably includes use at sea. Another key objective is integration with Amazon\u2019s wider interests such as its mobile devices and the AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud.
\nBy contrast, it has been argued that Starlink is being used mainly to generate funds for Elon Musk\u2019s well-publicised interplanetary ambitions \u2013 the colonisation of the moon and then Mars.
\nIn its attempt to catch up, five satellites a day are being turned out by Amazon\u2019s purpose-built factory near Seattle. A $140m satellite processing facility has already been established at the Kennedy Space Center that prepares them for lift-off.
\nSecurity is tight leaving experts still guessing about the design and size of the orbital units.
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What is known is that over 150 are already in orbit with new launches every few weeks boosting this number towards the level needed to roll out a viable service some time in 2026. Plans are in place to have 3,200 in low earth orbit as part of their \u2018initial constellation\u2019 \u2013 sufficient to provide near-global coverage.
\nBut maybe the future isn\u2019t about the number of satellites, but more about what they provide. Starlink has certainly made a dent in the use of the Iridium system that many of us have relied on for years for voice calls and simple text messaging. Supporters of that well-established system will argue this is a false comparison as Iridium\u2019s robustness means it can be relied upon in rough weather, crossing oceans and in high latitudes \u2013 in a way that Starlink cannot.
\nInstead, the big difference is speed. With a stable connection, Starlink can deliver high-end broadband speeds allowing you to while away hours at the chart table, downloading complex weather data, updating charts, dealing with emails, watching the news, and whatever else takes your fancy. By comparison, Iridium works at the speed of a turn-of-the-century dial-up modem.
\nBefore Starlink, the only viable comparable option at sea was Inmarsat, requiring a large outlay for the hardware and pricey subscription plans. The basic Starlink system means buying a flat plate antenna for not much more than the cost of a TV satellite dish, and subscription plans starting at \u00a339 a month. But the \u2018marine\u2019 version of the hardware predictably costs a good deal more, and the plans start at a hefty \u00a3206 a month.
\nBoat owners are not going to be the primary market for Kuiper, but we can expect marinised versions of their equipment in fairly short order.
\nThat Starlink is currently unavailable in Russia, Iran and China will come as no surprise, but less helpfully Turkey and South Africa also block its use, with the signal simply dropping out as you enter those countries\u2019 12-mile limits. There have also been reports of patchy coverage in the Caribbean. Starlink has to geo-fence its service wherever it has no licence to operate and Kuiper may be able to exploit that.
\nAmazon is playing catch-up, but when technology is developed in the slipstream of an early trailblazer it can often outperform and overtake it. Given how quickly and effectively Starlink changed things in our world, Kuiper has a similar feel about it.
\nAnd as for that new moonbase?
\nLet\u2019s see.<\/p>\n
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The post Bezos vs. Musk: Is Amazon\u2019s Kuiper the real Starlink killer? \u2013 Matt Sheahan appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The new space race has reached sea level. With over 6,000 Starlink satellites already in orbit, can Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper play catch-up\u2014and ultimately provide a better deal for mariners?Space is back in fashion, and with media interest at a … <\/p>\n