Tag: SpaceX

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Rogers partnering with SpaceX to provide satellite cellular services

Rogers will use SpaceX satellites to provide mobile phone services to Canadians across the country.

CEO Tony Staffieri shared details at the company’s annual general meeting, stating the partnership will allow Canadians to make 911 calls in all situations, including natural disasters.

SpaceX will use Starlink’s low earth orbit satellites to provide coverage across the country. The companies will work together to provide users with the ability to text first, with voice and data services following soon after. The technology will work with 5G and 4G smartphones once it becomes available.

Rogers is also working with Lynk Global to expand their technology in Canada. The U.S.- based company has sent and received texts from space through unmodified standard mobile devices.

“These investments meant that Canadians will be connected everywhere from remote wilderness and national parks to rural highways,” Staffieri said.

Source: Rogers
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Elon Musk loses billions in net worth after a hectic 24 hours

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Elon Musk has reportedly seen his net worth crash by $12.6 billion after a chaotic 24 hours for Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX.

Musk’s problems began on the morning of April 20th, with Tesla publishing disappointing first-quarter results. The EV company reported a nearly 20 percent decline in gross margins after aggressive price cuts to its vehicle lineup in recent months. This saw the company’s share price drop by 9.8 percent.

Just a few hours later, Musk’s other company, SpaceX, saw one of its test launches of the Starship spacecraft end in a self-described “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” The Starship made it off the ground in what looked to be a success before combusting into a ball of flames just four minutes after takeoff. Musk, who has a substantial 42 percent stake in SpaceX, said another test launch would take place in a few months.

If you’re following along, that’s a 9.8 percent Tesla share price drop, and one exploded test-launch rocket, all before lunch.

To make matters worse, Thursday was not kind to Musk’s latest venture as Twitter’s CEO either. April 20th was also the day that legacy accounts across the site began to see their verified blue checkmarks disappear after Musk confirmed the change a week prior. The decision was made in an effort to get users to sign up for Twitter Blue, a subscription that costs $8 per month. Only select accounts, such as William Shatner and LeBron James, held on to their check marks after the CEO confirmed that he would be fronting the bill for select accounts with notable followings.

This decision was met with backlash from media organizations and the overall Twitter populace, with many concerned that the removal of verified accounts would lead to a spread of misinformation.

Despite a “bad day at the office” for Musk, he remains the second richest person in the world, sitting just behind Bernard Arnault. The recent loss does not eclipse the $26.8 billion dollar increase in Musk’s wealth following Tesla’s 33 percent share price rebound in January 2023.

Perhaps jokingly, the billionaire ended his day with this tweet.

Source: Bloomberg Via: The Verge

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Save over 50 percent on Starlink hardware right now

Image credit: Starlink https://www.starlink.com/

For a limited time, Canadians can get SpaceX’s Starlink hardware for half price.

According to a notice on the Starlink website and in an email from the company, Canadians can save over 50 percent on their Starlink Kit, getting it for $350 instead of the regular $759.

Screenshot of the Starlink discount

Screenshot of Starlink’s hardware discount for Canadians.

The email notes that the offer is valid for both Residential and Roam services but isn’t available for waitlisted areas.

The standard Starlink Kit includes the rectangular antenna and base, as well as cables and a router. You can learn more about the hardware here.

Getting started with Starlink is pretty expensive in Canada, but this offer goes a long way to reduce that cost. Typically, customers need to pay $759 for hardware as well as $140 for the first month of service, a $129 deposit, and shipping, handling, and taxes.

You can learn more on the Starlink website.

Header image credit: Starlink

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Starlink Mobile App V3 now available on iPhone, Android

SpaceX has rolled out an update to Starlink’s app.

Called version 3 (V3), the update includes navigation, performance, and stability improvements. According to the App Store, it also includes a new interactive 3D network visualization.

The app allows Starlink users to do a myriad of things, including setting up hardware, viewing connectivity issues and contacting support.

You can download the app for iOS and Android.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Source: Starlink Via: Tesla North 

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Ukraine to receive thousands of Starlink terminals as funding concerns temporarily subside

Ukraine is set to receive more than 10,000 Starlink terminals.

The country’s deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed the news to Bloomberg. Several countries, part of the European Union, are ready to help pay for the service, he said.

The announcement momentarily puts an end to questions on how Ukraine could fund the satellite internet service. Starlink’s satellite internet terminals served as a vital source of communication when they first arrived in the country following Russia’s Invasion that destroyed Ukraine’s communications infrastructure.

But its presence was questioned this fall when SpaceX said it might stop funding the service. The company asked the U.S. to provide financial resources for the service.

“As of now all financial issues have been resolved,” Fedorov told Bloomberg. While he didn’t go into detail, Fedorov said it will need financial assistance by spring 2023.

Ukraine has received roughly 22,000 Starlink antennas since February.

“Regarding internet, we have a lot of Starlinks, but the key point is we have got a nod for another shipment that will be used to stabilize connection for critical situations,” Fedorov said.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Source: Bloomberg

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New Starlink service Starshield turns SpaceX into defence contractor

SpaceX has launched a new service on its website aimed at governments.

Starshield uses Starlink technology to support national security and is a “secured satellite network for government entities,” according to SpaceX’s website.

Starshield focuses on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. “Starshield uses additional high-assurance cryptographic capability to host classified payloads and process data securely, meeting the most demanding government requirements,” the website states.

Starlink’s system can also be integrated with other satellites to work on the Starshield network.

Despite the available information, what exactly this all means is unclear. As pointed out by various other media outlets, Starshield’s introduction was quite, appearing on Starlink’s website along with its other subbrands. Its launch didn’t appear to receive any promotion. It’s also unclear what its tagline “supporting national security” means and if it would include military intelligence.

Its clear Starlink isn’t without its issues. One notable example is Starlink’s deployment in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion. While the network might have been helpful to some, reports indicate Starlink power outages have impacted Ukrainian forces. With Starlink powering Starshield, it’s possible similar impacts could be seen with the new technology.

Image credit: SpaceX

Source: SpaceX Via: The Verge 

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Musk’s SpaceX buys ads from Musk’s Twitter amid bankruptcy fears

Amid Twitter’s ongoing struggles to drum up profit as advertisers bail, SpaceX has ordered one of the social media platform’s larger advertising packages.

While a company buying advertising from another company wouldn’t typically be a big deal, it’s worth noting that Elon Musk is CEO for both SpaceX and Twitter. Moreover, Twitter has faced increasing pressure to make money after Musk’s acquisition saddled the company with significant debt. Musk previously said Twitter saw a “massive drop in revenue” and that the company faced bankruptcy, and under Musk, Twitter laid off a significant portion of its workforce to save money.

CNBC reported on the SpaceX ad buy, citing internal records viewed by the publication as well as information shared by a Twitter employee who asked not to be identified. SpaceX reportedly purchased what’s called a Twitter ‘takeover’ to promote Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service. The campaign will target Australia and Spain and was reportedly purchased last week.

According to CNBC, when a company buys a takeover, it typically costs $250,000 USD (about $332,036 CAD) per day and will put the brand at the top of the main Twitter timeline for a full day. Users reportedly will see Starlink brand messaging for the first three times they open Twitter on the day (or days) of the takeover campaign. SpaceX’s campaign is slated to run in the coming days.

Moreover, CNBC notes that SpaceX doesn’t typically purchase large advertising campaigns from Twitter.

This all makes for a relatively suspicious transaction, given Musk’s very public discussions of Twitter’s financial problems and dropping ad revenue. It also comes after Musk headed the failed rollout of a revamped Twitter Blue subscription service. Musk pushed Twitter to launch a new, more expensive version of Blue that provided paying subscribers with a blue verified checkmark, which was previously reserved for authenticating high-profile accounts. Within hours of the subscription going live, a variety of fake accounts with paid verification badges flooded Twitter with posts, some of which had significant impacts on companies — namely, a fake tweet about insulin that caused Eli Lilly to lose billions after the company’s stock took a dive.

The chaos prompted Twitter to pause the new Blue subscription within days of it going live, and Musk seems to be reconsidering the idea, saying in a tweet that Twitter would allow organizations to identify which other accounts are actually associated with them.

For the latest on the turmoil at Twitter, check out all of MobileSyrup’s coverage here.

Source: CNBC

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Elon Musk’s plans for futuristic subway replaced by parking spaces

SpaceX had plans to create a futuristic transportation system called the Hyperloop. Those plans have hit an indefinite pause.

Plans for the subway of the future involved levitating pods across tubes of tunnels under found Elon Musk’s futuristic transportation venture, the Boring Company.

But as reported by Bloomberg, a prototype of the tunnel, first unveiled in 2018, has been paved down and replaced with a parking lot for SpaceX employees. There are no signs of the tunnel along Jack Northrop Avenue, located near Space Exploration Technologies Corp’s Hawthorne, California office, the publication notes.

While there is no clear indication as to if and when the Hyperloop could come back, Musk has teased the idea regardless.

But it seems like the world’s richest man is preoccupied with other things, namely his bid to make money from Twitter users after buying the company for $44 billion.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Bloomberg

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Starlink to ship satellite internet service for RVs in December

Source: SpaceX

Canadians can get their hands on Starlink for RVs this December, but it comes with a not-so-pretty price tag.

According to Starlink’s website, the service costs $170 monthly in addition to the one-time hardware fee of $759.

The service, brought forward by SpaceX, will provide high-speed, low-latency internet wherever Starlink provides coverage. According, to the company’s coverage map, at least half of Canada, including Northern Canada, is included in the “no coverage category.”

However, Starlink says services will be available in Q1 2023 but provides no specifics beyond that.

You can visit Starlink’s website to see if Starlink for RVs is available for you.

Image credit: SpaceX

Source: Starlink

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SpaceX reveals plans to launch 350 Mbps satellite internet on planes

Using the internet on a plane is typically an expensive and awful experience, but that could soon change.

Following the launch of Starlink for RVs, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has revealed Starlink Aviation, a new project that aims to equip airplanes with the company’s Aero Terminal kits starting in 2023.

According to Starlink Aviation’s FAQ page, the service will be available worldwide to planes equipped with an Aero Terminal. The only catch is that the plane needs to have an unobstructed view of the sky. In theory, Starlink’s low-earth satellites should be able to provide internet to passengers when a plane is over water, taxiing or even waiting to take off.

Given most in-flight internet is limited to 100 Mbps (if you’re lucky), Starlink’s far faster 350 Mbps allows users to do more things while on a flight, including playing online games or even making video calls.

Starlink has yet to announce what airlines will offer its new Aviation service. It’s likely that since the Terminal kits won’t launch until 2023, it will be a few months before we get a list of airlines that are part of the platform.

That said, Hawaiian Airlines recently announced that it’s deploying Starlink in select aircraft, and Delta has stated that it’s running “exploratory” Starlink tests.

It’s unclear how much Starlink Aviation will cost passengers to use or what the price of Terminals Kits is for airlines.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: SpaceX Via: Engadget