Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind such well known brands like Tesla Motors and SpaceX, has confirmed through a tweet that he is in the early stages of developing a network of micro-satellites, likely to offer internet coverage in all areas – even those not covered before at all, Time reports. The entrepreneur has promised an announcement to be made about this project in the next 2 or 3 months.
SpaceX is still in the early stages of developing advanced micro-satellites operating in large formations. Announcement in 2 to 3 months.
@elonmusk on Twitter
Reports about Musk’s plans to develop a network of small, inexpensive communication satellites in collaboration with WorldVu’s Greg Wyler have appeared a few days ago. The news spoke about plans to launch a network of 700 micro-satellites, with a weight of up to 250 pounds each – that’s about half of what a commercial satellite weights nowadays. Greg Wyler has a similar project ongoing, called O3b Networks, with a fleet of eight satellites and the plans to launch four more, providing internet connection to areas on both sides of the equator.
Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, is primarily involved in transporting cargo to the International Space Station. The company has recently been awarded a NASA contract on delivering human cargo – astronauts, that is – to the ISS, with the goal to break the monopoly the Russian cosmodrome Baikonur currently has on this service. The business model employed by SpaceX is based on the development of reusable rockets and capsules that can perform a soft landing either on dry land, or on floating platforms on the ocean – such a landing will be first attempted as soon as during the company’s next scheduled space flight in December. The ultimate goal of the company is to reduce the costs of space flight considerably, making it affordable enough to make colonization of Mars a viable option.