Evolving Satellite Market

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The successful landings of Space-X's first stage rockets (and Blue Origin's success as well) signals a major breakthrough in the future reduction of the cost of space access. It seems to reason that this will result in a dramatic increase in the entrepreneurial interest in using satellite-based infrastructure to provide new services to a global audience. For example, companies like Google could deploy wireless internet access using small "cube" satellites that cost much less to build and launch than current systems.

With this in mind, David Vye's observations in his post on Smart RF/Microwave Solutions for an Evolving Satellite Market over at NI-AWR caught my eye and makes for an interesting read. Keep an eye out for news about new satellite projects that don't fit the traditional business model that required a massive capital investment to get off the ground.

Personally, I find it so surprising that this type of vertical landing has become possible in my lifetime. I recall watching 1950's-era science fiction movies as a child and thinking that their depiction of rockets landing on their tails was so "unrealistic." This reasoning was further enforced during the era of the Space Shuttle, with its strategy of having the reusable parts either parachute into the ocean or glide back to Earth as an aircraft. Yet it turns out that those old movies were quite visionary after all...

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