Starship communication system
We know that the primary use of Starship in near term will be the launch of Starlink satellites. But FCC authority to test Starlink terminals on Starship provides clues about about the future of the communication infrastructure on the Starship. I have argued before that even though Starlink required a perfect storm of technologies coming together, the main driver was really low cost phase array terminal. But this is not revolutionary for ground segment, it also simplifies the design of the space segment communication terminals a great deal. Why is that? Well, the space antenna, especially in deep space, requires very precise attitude control, which often can be at odds with other requirements (such as overheating or overcooling, addressed through rotation) or insolation requirements for solar panels. Also, antenna pointing also might require mechanical stresses or excessive use of attitude control thrusters. How does flat phased array antennas help? Main benefit is they use ...
