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SpaceX will sell satellite lasers to competitors that can accelerate space communication

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2024-05-10 16:04:13
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SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated at a meeting on Tuesday that the company has started selling satellite lasers for fast space communication to other satellite companies.



SpaceX's thousands of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit use inter satellite laser links to transmit data to each other in space at the speed of light, so that the network can provide more extensive Internet coverage worldwide with fewer ground stations.

During a speech at a panel at the Washington Satellite Industry Conference, Schottwell stated that SpaceX, as a supplier, will sell the technology to other companies.

Schottwell said, "We will launch this plan... This summer, our new North Star Dawn mission will be conducted on the Dragon spacecraft." He referred to the upcoming private astronaut flight aboard the company's Dragon spacecraft.

Schottwell stated that the laser product is called a "Plug and Plaser", indicating that customers can easily install these devices on their spacecraft.
Space companies choose to sell spacecraft components to diversify their revenue and increase cash to fund larger capital intensive projects. SpaceX is developing and testing its next-generation Starship rocket, which is designed to be cheaper than its main Falcon 9 rocket but much more powerful.
"We usually don't sell components, so this is a bit fresh for us," Schottwell told Reuters after a group discussion. She stated that SpaceX is already in negotiations with potential clients.

Source: Laser Net

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