Musk’s SpaceX, an incredulous spacecraft manufacturing company is distinctively known as a champion of integration – where rockets and other space-related tech is built from recycled parts, reducing wastages to increase affordability.   

SpaceX has managed to put Starlink into orbit, a massive constellation of low-altitude satellites which connects underserved areas of the world to the internet. 

Starlink and the recently launched Starship, are less of an opportunity for being notches up into SpaceX’s portfolio and more of the stepping stones and central pillars aligned to Musk’s space exploration’s ultimate dream – going to Mars. 

The tech titan has always made no secret of his dream to make human colonies on the Red Planet by 2050, envisioning the day when the world will witness his triumph of landing a rocket on the Martian surface successfully. 

“A spacefaring civilization is all about believing in the future, thinking it will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”
– Elon Musk

SpaceX Starship Launch Progress

One of SpaceX’s most ambitious projects to fuel the dream of Mars is launching Starship – a completely reusable and repurposable rocket transportation system that takes people and goods to Earth’s orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. In the last two years, SpaceX has unfortunately delayed its starship launch innumerable times, owing to pending licensing requisites from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

Just weeks after firing all other engines to test the Starship launch vehicle, Musk’s latest tweets display the decision of gearing up to conduct the maiden orbital flight of the “Starship Super Heavy Rocket” as early as this week. 

The FAA also posted a notice for SpaceX’s Starship launch date buffer window for its orbital flight between April 10 – April 12, 2023, with backup dates listed as April 18 through 21. The timing frame for all dates is between 8:00 – 11:05 AM Eastern time. 

Starship fully stacked at Starbase. Team is working towards a launch rehearsal next week followed by Starship’s first integrated flight test ~week later pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/9VbJLppswp

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 6, 2023

This test mission marks the first launch of the fully-stacked Starship rocket system which is SpaceX’s 394-ft tall rocket sitting on top of a ‘super heavy’ first-stage booster consisting of 33 rocket engines. Starship’s Super Heavy booster is expected to be rocketed up from SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in Boca Chica, Texas and deploy the Starship second stage into space to complete its maiden orbital before reentering Earth and splashing miles off the coast of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. 

The aerospace company had fully integrated Starship with the booster and filled its fuel tank to full capacity. SpaceX’s Starship launch practice for its Super Heavy booster had survived a scintillating conclusion at the beginning of this year when as part of the Boca Chica SpaceX launch, the crew weighted the rocket with 10 million pounds of propellant. 

SpaceX And FAA: A Saga Of Launch Approvals

Although Starship’s Super Heavy booster sits on the pedestal of being powered as the world’s most powerful launch vehicle to ever be developed, the ability to hoist more than 100 metric tonnes to Earth’s orbit is privy to the FAA’s acquiescence. 

The Elon Musk-led company still seeks the launch license for its Texas-based first orbital Starship test flight from the FAA. 

Starship is ready for launch 🚀

Awaiting regulatory approval

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2023

In a statement to the press, the FAA clarified the notion of its planning notice having no influence over its licensing regulations. 

“The FAA has not made a license determination for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy operation. FAA Command Center’s planning notice will not, and should not be interpreted as an indicator that a determination to issue a license has been made or is forthcoming.” 

Yet, reports from a source close to the issue affirm that SpaceX’s launch license for its Starship test could be granted by the FAA by today, but also cautioned that the licensing process is due to delays due to environmental compliance reviews. 

The post Boca Chica SpaceX Launch: Starship Braces for Maiden Orbital Flight appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

Musk has been in the controversial limelight more than ever since he took over Twitter. Much to the ire of investors, Musk’s decisions are worrying his SpaceX and Tesla teams, because they claim it is leading his prized company Tesla to trials and tribulations, with shares suffering a grisly bloodbath. 

The first time Musk ranked with the distinction of the World’s Richest Man was in 2021, when he superseded Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. Due to his personal style of leadership, Elon Musk’s success has been compared to the likes of business magnates in US history, including Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Steve Jobs. This has also leered criticisms, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak taking a jab at Tesla’s unfulfilled promises.

Albeit Tesla’s stock rose 100 percent, attributed to the inverse quotient between cheaper car prices and rising demand since January 2023, an S&P report predicted the EV Carmaker’s decline due to strong competition. 

Here’s a brief outlook on one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk’s Net Worth, and how he became 2021 TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year by scaling the pinnacle of the business world. 

Elon Musk: A Brief History:

Hailing from the native South African community, Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, to Maye (Model and Nutritionist) and Errol Musk (Electromechanical engineer). After his parents’ divorce in 1980, Musk spent his childhood with his father, which he described as a period of ‘great adversity’. 

Musk began self-studying when programming piqued his interest at the age of nine and was enrolled in the private school, Waterkloof House Preparatory School where he was bullied awfully by his peers. Using technology as a means to escape the terrible circumstances, Musk gained interest in Commodore VIC-20, an inexpensive home computer. He was proficient enough to create Blastar – a Space Invaders-styled video game whose sale to PC Magazine earned him $500.7.

At the ripe age of 17, Musk obtained Canadian citizenship through his mother after emigrating to Ontario’s Queen’s University. He met his future wife, Justin Wilson during his college years with whom he went on to have five sons together, before separating in 2008. Additional accolades included a graduate degree in Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wharton School. Physics is imbued deeply in Musk’s framework.

“Boil things down to fundamental truths and just reason up from there.”

With Silicon Valley booming, Musk dropped out of his PhD in Applied Physics at Stanford University when he was just 24 years old, with entrepreneurial ideas in his head.

A Successful Business Telltale: Elon Musk’s Net Worth:

Elon Musk’s net worth and global fame are owed to two of his biggest and most technologically-advanced companies – SpaceX and Tesla, in addition to profitability and chaos from PayPal and Twitter. Prior to Tesla’s launch in 2004, Musk predicted that the future of the world was electric and was an early investor in numerous tech companies. At a point in history, Elon Musk had to borrow money for rent, with his substantial investments of millions in his companies. 

“$100 million in SpaceX, $70 million in Tesla, and $10 million in SolarCity, from the PayPal buyout profit.”

X.Com:

With his younger brother Kimbal and a staggering $15,000 in his pocket, Musk started a software company named Zip2, which helped newspapers build online city guides, in 1995. On being acquired for $341 million by Compaq Computer Corp in 1999, Musk created X.Com with the buyout money. X.Com was a fintech venture which merged with money transfer firm Confinity – resulting in the birth of PayPal. After Peter Thiel ousted him as CEO, eBay’s $1.5 billion acquisition of the company still landed favorably for Musk. His 11.7 percent stake in PayPal resulted in a buyout profit after tax, of about $180 million.

Tesla:

Following his passion for electric cars, Musk contributed $6.3 million as an early investor and began a team with engineer Martin Eberhard to run Tesla Motors. After Eberhard was ousted in 2007 as CEO, Musk assumed the role of the product architect and CEO, under which the world’s most valuable electric automobile maker, Tesla Inc flourished lavishly. Under Tesla’s electric nature, it maintains a robust rhythm in the solar energy sector by manufacturing rechargeable solar batteries under SolarCity. 

SpaceX:

With another belief for future dwellers on other planets, Musk used most of his PayPal buyout proceeds to fund a private space company, SpaceX – Space Exploration Technologies Corp, in 2002. Musk has taken this company to newer heights by scoring high-profile contracts with NASA and the U.S. Air Force to design space launch rockets and also revealed future plans of collaborating with NASA to send astronauts to Mars by 2025. 

Twitter:

Becoming Chief Twit has taken a toll – Musk admitted to burning out and being overworked over Twitter’s debacles and lack of management, leading to the effect of Tesla.In April 2022, Musk disclosed a 9.1 percent stake in the social media company, Twitter. Twitterati offered him a seat on the board, which he later declined. Musk then proposed to buy the company at $54.20 per share – $46.5 billion. After a tug-of-war between court lawsuits and discouragements from Tesla and SpaceX boards, Musk was free of the wrangling and took control of Twitter in October 2022. 

The market value of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter has made significant strides to Elon Musk’s net worth in addition to solar power manufacturing. Despite his fortune, it is alleged that Musk bears no income taxes. According to the Forbes Billionaire Index, Elon Musk’s Net Worth is $184.7 billion. 

Musk’s early interest in philosophy and science fiction has worked wonders for him in the business world. He promises to shape the technological future by disrupting industries over his notable interest in identifying industries crucial to humanity’s future, such as space exploration, renewable energy sources, and the internet. With all game-changers in play, despite bumps, PayPal, Tesla Inc, SpaceX, and SolarCity have earned him billions. 

The post The World’s Richest Men: Elon Musk’s Net Worth appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

In February 2021, CEO Elon Musk has tweeted that once the space company starts turning profits, he will take it public.

Once we can predict cash flow reasonably well, Starlink will IPO

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 9, 2021

It looks like the time is near. On February 12, SpaceX sent its 10th mission of the year – a Falcon 9 rocket that carried 55 Starlinks. And according to experts, a Starlink IPO is imminent as the company inches towards profitability.

The Starlink IPO: Are there enough profits?

Starlink consists of over 3,500 satellites in low Earth orbit that communicate with ground transceivers and provide Internet services across the world. SpaceX has plans to deploy 12,000 more and eventually have 42,000 in orbit. Last year, the company also increased its rates and left many prospective Starlink customers in the dark without information on when their connection will be up. 

The aerospace company has over one million subscribers as of December 2022 and recorded its first positive cash flow quarter last year. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also noted that the company is on track to turn a profit.

On February 8, at the Federal Aviation Administration’s annual Commercial Space Transportation conference in Washington DC, Shotwell revealed that the company “will make money.”

A positive cash flow means that the company is making more cash than its expenditure. It is key to gauging and planning a company’s long-term growth.

Last year, SpaceX generated $3.3 billion in revenue, out of which roughly $1 billion came from Starlink, according to Mo Islam, who previously worked with JP Morgan.

SpaceX valuation and Starlink’s Prospects

One of the most renowned companies in the world, SpaceX has partnered with NASA on multiple projects. It aims to revolutionize space travel and provide Internet access to the remotest corners of the globe. One of the projects in the works is the Starship. If successful it can be used to facilitate human travel between Mars and the moon, and also ferry massive amounts of cargo into space.

But the most popular SpaceX product is the Starlink satellite. Both retail and private investors want a piece of the pie but equity is limited as the company is private. All that could change with the Starlink IPO. For the public offering to become a reality, Starlink first needs to prove its mettle by bringing in the money.

While Shotwell did not provide additional details about the earnings, it is no secret that SpaceX is continuously working on expanding its Starlink offerings. At the conference, she admitted that as the main launch business is already profitable, they are not in any hurry to take in external investments.

In early January, CNBC reported that SpaceX had raised $750 million from venture capital investors at a $137 billion valuation. In 2022, the company had raised over $2 billion as eagle-eyed investors opened up their purses to fund the company’s space sojourns.

CEO Elon Musk has also been cautious about the Starlink IPO as he referenced history in a 2021 tweet. “Every new satellite constellation in history has gone bankrupt. We hope to be the first that does not,” stated the billionaire entrepreneur.

Musk has repeatedly admitted that he is aware of investor expectations when it comes to a public offering. In 2022, he mentioned a timeline of 2025 for the IPO, as he expects the company to grow sufficiently large by then.

His priority is to ensure smooth revenue and predictable growth before he turns to the public to invest in the company. SpaceX has so far made no comment on a prospective date or timeline for a Starlink IPO, despite admitting to its turning fortunes.

The post Shooting for the Stars: Will Starlink’s Profitability Accelerate its IPO? appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

Giving and receiving criticism is always a tricky affair. It is also the most effective tool in the personal development arsenal. While it might sting a little bit at the start, when used correctly, it can help people find motivation, strengthen relationships, and deliver incredible results. So, why is it that the very word “criticism” often evokes strong negative feelings amongst the majority?

How to handle criticism is not part of any regular course curriculum. Yet, it is one of the most important skills to have at the workplace. Beyond that, knowing how not to take criticism personally is one of the biggest indicators of emotional maturity. This ability is especially important if you are a CEO, prone to receive brickbats from everyone, including employees and consumers.

What Elon Musk shows us on how NOT to handle criticism

So, why is it that Elon Musk fits into our guide on how not to take criticism personally? As the chief executive of three companies, who is extremely active on social media, he is often exposed to vitriol from trolls. You would expect that the daily exposure would give him a thicker skin — as he continues to engage with the commenters, especially on Twitter. Sadly, that is not the case in real life when it comes to the companies he oversees.

SpaceX Firings

The aerospace company headed by Elon Musk has taken great strides in making space tourism a reality. It has also been instrumental in providing Internet to far-flung corners of the Earth, via its Starlink satellites.

But all is not well in the SpaceX universe. In June 2022, SpaceX employees were in for a rude shock after attending a meeting with Jon Edwards, the vice president, on Musk’s reaction to criticism.

Previously, five employees had written a letter expressing their displeasure at Musk’s behavior involving a sexual harassment claim. The letter writers were later fired by the company for seemingly distracting the firm and maligning Musk.

When questioned about the event, Jon Edwards, the vice President told the two employees, “SpaceX is Elon and Elon is SpaceX.” The employees revealed this information to The New York Times late last year, expressing incredulity at the unfair practice.

The letter eventually led to the firing of a total of nine employees, out of which eight of them filed a case with the National Labor Relations Board for unfair labor practices.  

The lawsuit is a textbook case on what not to do while receiving criticism as it not just affects work culture, but also creates fear and resentment in the minds of employees. An environment dominated by fear stifles innovation and dissuades workers from speaking up, even on pressing issues, which is detrimental to the growth of any organization.

Tesla Lawsuits

At the electric carmaker managed by Musk, the story is not too different.

In June 2022, fifteen Black former and current employees filed a lawsuit against the electric carmaker alleging racial abuse and harassment at its factories.

The lawsuit states that supervisors, colleagues, and HR personnel took part in creating a toxic environment in the California factory.

Furthermore, in the same month, a Tesla shareholder took cognizance of the grievances aired by Tesla employees and filed a lawsuit against CEO Elon Musk and the company’s board of directors for neglecting worker complaints and creating a toxic workplace.

Last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) also ordered Elon Musk to delete a tweet that the court had deemed a threat that employees would be giving up company-paid stock options if they join a union.

To ignore criticism is to blatantly disrespect an individual and undermine their contributions at the workplace. Pretending that what is being said is not relevant is also part of what not to do while receiving criticism.

The company’s shares have borne the brunt of investor pessimism and retailors have been busy selling Tesla stock amid growing concerns about Elon Musk’s divided attention.

Twitter Firings

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has been mired in controversy since Day One. Although he laid off over half the workforce citing cost cutting measures, some employees were let go for being very vocal critics of Musk and his management style.

Twitter employees who criticized the billionaire CEO on internal channels or publicly on Twitter itself, were let go with no specific reason given for their termination.

Sasha Solomon, a software engineer, was one such casualty. She was let go after she took to Twitter to question Musk’s moves as the new head of the social media platform. Another person was Android developer Eric Frohnhoefer, who publicly called out Musk on his comment about slow loading times for Twitter. Incensed, Musk tweeted, “He’s fired.” Although Musk later deleted the tweet, Frohnhoefer was indeed fired without any formal communication.

One employee told Rolling Stone in confidence that Twitter firings have also affected people who criticized or challenged Musk on internal Slack messages.

The Twitter firings show us that at companies headed by Musk, there is no room for growth as employees are expected to defer to the CEO. For any person in authority, firing people for raising concerns must attract severe penalties. This is especially noteworthy in the list of things on what not to do while receiving criticism, as discriminatory firings can give rise to a host of legal issues.

What not to do while handling criticism

As social animals, we all need encouragement and appreciation to thrive. And though it is not spoken about as much, criticism is just as essential to weed out what is not working for us.

Perhaps, the best comment on criticism comes from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In an interview, he stated, “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.”

If you have ever wondered how to handle criticism diligently, here is a list of don’ts you must follow.

Don’t react impulsively

Even when you receive negative feedback, it is important to give yourself some time and space to reflect on what was said. Reacting impulsively is a sign of emotional immaturity and will land you in trouble. Instead of reacting to the accusation or comment, you must think carefully before responding to it. This is step one in how not to take criticism personally.

If you are in a position of power, reacting impulsively could land you in trouble with human resources and the legal team.

Don’t dwell too long on it

A criticism is also an opinion of the person giving it. You do not have to take it as an undisputed fact. Try to remind yourself of your accomplishments if you feel burdened by what you have heard. Dwelling too long on negative criticism can affect our mood and productivity.

While it is important to take note of the message, dwelling too long on negative feedback does no good to anyone.

Don’t make assumptions

One of the key steps in how not to take criticism personally, is to avoid making assumptions. To make assumptions is to make a fool out of the other person and yourself. It’s never a bad idea to seek clarification from the reviewer to help you gain a better understanding of their feedback.

This drives home the fact that you value their input and want to improve things in the future.

Whenever someone offers any form of negative criticism, it means you fell short in their evaluation. Instead of feeling insecure or angry, you must evaluate the content and the intent behind it.

At the workplace, criticism is necessary to foster a culture of innovation. By including examples and clearly stating what you expect, you give the other person a chance to better themselves. 

Receiving criticism is a valuable learning opportunity and when done in  a responsible manner helps everyone involved.

The post The Dark Side of Leadership: How Elon Musk’s Controversies Serve as a Cautionary Tale for CEOs appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

The Falcon 9 is a partially reusable rocket, and around nine minutes after the launch, its first stage landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean, where a SpaceX droneship awaited its return. It was the sixth landing for this booster which has previously assisted in the launch of astronaut-carrying missions directed by NASA. The Falcon 9’s second stage moved ahead with the Starlinks, putting them into orbit approximately 15 minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX had provided live coverage of the launch on its site and confirmed the deployment with a tweet from their official Twitter handle.

The company revealed that the strong geomagnetic storm will cause a majority of its satellites to burn in Earth’s atmosphere, instead of fulfilling their mission.

In a statement released by SpaceX, the company informed netizens that, “Unfortunately, the satellites deployed on Thursday were significantly impacted by a geomagnetic storm on Friday. These storms cause the atmosphere to warm and atmospheric density at our low deployment altitudes to increase. In fact, onboard GPS suggests the escalation speed and severity of the storm caused atmospheric drag to increase up to 50 percent higher than during previous launches. The Starlink team commanded the satellites into a safe-mode where they would fly edge-on (like a sheet of paper) to minimize drag—to effectively “take cover from the storm” —and continued to work closely with the Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron and LeoLabs to provide updates on the satellites based on ground radars.”

They also admitted that preliminary analysis show that around 40 satellites are slated to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere or have already re-entered.  On re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the satellites are programmed to burn up, and pose no risk to other satellites in orbit. This means that there will be no space or orbital debris that can cause harm at a later stage.  The Starlink team has continued to improve its on-orbit debris mitigation.

A Starry Trouble

There has been growing concerns about the effect of Starlinks on the night sky. Astronomers allege that the satellites reflect sunlight creating an artificial brightness that obstructs their study of the night sky. Elon Musk has previously mentioned that he intends to create a mega constellation of Starlink satellites that can provide to far reaching areas. With the recent launch, the number of Starlinks launched by SpaceX has crossed 2000. The company has plans to eventually increase the number to over 42,000 and provide internet connectivity across the globe.

SpaceX signed the Space Act Agreeemnt with NASA in April 2021, where the aerospace company agreed to move Starlink satellites if they venture too close to the International Space Station (ISS) or any other spacecraft in orbit. This agreement came about after ISS had to adjust its orbit multiple times in 2020 to avoid collisions. As the number of satellites grow, so does the chances for an accident in space.

In December of last year, China informed the United Nations that they had to employ evasive maneuvers to avoid Starlinks from hitting its space station. In a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary General, China stated that they had two close encounters and “For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control on July 1 and October 21, 2021, respectively.”

The post Geomagnetic Storm Knocks 40 Starlinks Out of Orbit appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

Elon Musk has always been a prominent advocate for sustainability. This holds true for his ventures like Tesla – the world leader in the EV segment, and SpaceX – an aerospace company which recycles parts of rockets, reducing costs and wastage.

SpaceX is a privately-held company that launches its own satellites. It aims to build a mega constellation of Starlink satellites that orbit about 550 km above the Earth to provide easy internet access to end-users. As information is shared faster through the vacuum of space, these satellites are more efficient than fiber-optic cables. Also, they meet or exceed every standard regarding regulation of space debris. Further, the Falcon 9 series of rockets have been fired over a hundred times and are reusable. This helps SpaceX reduce costs as it does not need to procure fresh parts.

Standing tall at around 70 meters, the Falcon 9 rocket took off on Jan 6 at 4:49 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The weather was pleasant and conducive to take-off. The rocket was visible as it climbed higher into the Earth’s atmosphere before making its delivery and landing at sea. Following separation from the second stage, the booster was scheduled to fall off near the Atlantic Ocean.

The current one was SpaceX’s 35th launch. In 2021, Space X made history with a record 31 launches. It looks like 2022 will follow in the same vein. According to the operations director of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SpaceX is scheduled fo s even launches in the first month of 2022.  Five of these seven will be launched on the Falcon 9 rockets.

The company confirmed on Twitter that its Falcon 9 rocket has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, sending a new stack of 49 Starlink satellites into the low Earth orbit.

Starlink provides high-speed internet to different parts of the globe where internet was previously inaccessible. The aerospace company has helped education and healthcare sectors and, when needed,  directed rescue efforts in flood-affected areas. SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson revealed that Starlink now has over 145,000 users spread across 25 countries. Starlink engineers aim to build a fleet of around 12000 satellites while a FMC report revealed that the company has applied for authorization for approximately 30,000.

Like any other disruptor, Starlink is mired in different controversies. The most recent concern was raised by members of the scientific community who study the night sky. The reflectivity of Starlink’s low-flying satellites is said to cause light pollution — particularly during the hours of dusk and dawn. It is unlikely that this problem can be completely eradicated, however, it can be controlled. SpaceX has been trying to lessen different methods to reduce the amount of light reflected off its satellites. It is yet to arrive at a successful solution. Meanwhile, satellite internet providers in the US, UK, Canada and China have already set in motion plans to expand their fleet, which will continue to exacerbate the problem.

You can head to the ‘Find Starlink’ website to check out when SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will be visible in your area.

The post SpaceX builds a Starlink constellation to revolutionize internet access appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

There are certain inherent challenges in turning this fuel source into useful energy. About 30 percent of the solar energy is reflected back in to the atmosphere. A significant amount of UV light is lost in the ozone layer and infrared wavelengths are absorbed by methane, carbon dioxide and water vapor. About 70% of the total light reaches the Earth’s surface.

A good way to capture the maximum amount of radiation is to put photovoltaics on satellites in space and objects outside of our atmosphere to absorb the broader range of spectral wavelengths available. Additionally, such solar energy capture objects will not be hampered by clouding and nighttime and would be able to transmit substantially more energy than terrestrial solar panels.

The energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation can be beamed back to Earth in either laser or microwave form through antennas. An antenna on the ground could collect the waves or electromagnetic radiations from lasers and convert them back into electricity to be distributed. This would make it possible to directly transmit energy even to remote regions without extensive electrical infrastructure and overcome the drop in electricity generation from solar sources overnight.

The proposed devices for microwave transmission of solar power are huge – more than 3 km in diameter and weighing over 80,000 metric tons. Moreover, these devices need an extensive area of 3-10 kms on Earth for transmission catching. Hence laser-based transmission might be a better alternative with more compact instruments and smaller transmission areas. However, more satellites will be required to deliver the same amount of power as the microwave giants.

Secondly, such beaming devices will bypass the problem of energy storage. According to energy matching service Greenmatch, Space-based solar power (SBSP) could generate 40 times as much energy as Earth-based solar power.

There are some drawbacks to this alternative source of energy—the astronomical cost. The cost of production, launch, and assembly (which would most likely have to happen in space), currently make it commercially unviable. However, the technological advances made in recent years have brought down the costs, making SBSP a viable option. Currently, the key players in SBSP are China, the US and Japan. China is planning to send the first functioning prototype into space in 2022.

Researchers say that satellite and photovoltaic technologies have advanced sufficiently that the idea of solar energy satellites powering the Earth is now a real possibility.

Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have demonstrated the efficacy of putting out satellites in space. SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network plans to put out 30 tons of satellites a month. It is on course to potentially manufacture 40,000 satellites within five years, and launch all of them.

“The path to low-cost hardware has been shown,” said John Mankins, president of Artemis Innovation Management Solutions. “It’s modular and mass-produced. The hurdles of less-expensive launch and lowering hardware costs have been overcome.”

Photovoltaics were used for the first time on the Vanguard 1 mission in 1958.

The post Space Solar Power Through Satellites A Possibility appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

During a blockchain conference on July 31, Musk talked about his entrepreneurial journey over the years and how it has transformed his life. Two-thirds of the “personal and professional pain” he’s experienced have stemmed from running Tesla.

Musk, who is also the brains behind flamethrower and The Boring Company, said he has poured his “life energy” into the EV firm since it was founded in 2003.

“I would say I’ve had some pretty tough life experiences and Tesla’s probably responsible for two-thirds of all personal and professional pain combined, to give you a sense of perspective there,” the billionaire said.

The latest news comes after Elon Musk was summoned to court over a lawsuit alleging that the carmaker’s acquisition of SolarCity was a result of the CEO’s personal ties and came as a big blow to its investors. The legal battle got so ugly, in fact, that somebody ended up puking in the court room last week.

Elon Musk’s contribution to the world have been monumental but his struggles are far from over. The billionaire worked late hours and allegedly spent nights sleeping on the couch at the carmaker’s factory in Fremont, California back in 2018 over production woes.

The man is now fighting with pandemic-driven supply chain issues, Tesla Model S Plaid’s spontaneous combustion, and roofs flying off their brand new Tesla Model Y.

“This is a hella hard situation,” Musk said, while also acknowledging that the automaker has made a lot of mistakes since its inception. “At Tesla, we really do aspire to be the good guys.”

During the roughly hour-long talk at The B Word conference, Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, along with ARK Invest founder and Cathie Wood and Steve Lee of Square Crypto, spoke about a range of issues, from the environmental consequences of Bitcoin mining to the role that the digital currency could play in our future. The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX endorsed cleaner energy, such as hydropower, geothermal and nuclear to reduce the environmental ills of Bitcoin mining. Musk also confirmed that Tesla will likely accept Bitcoin as a form of payment (again!).

The post Billionaire CEO Elon Musk Shares the Brutal Truth about Life as an Entrepreneur appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

He was speaking in a video interview from California with the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. He revealed that the company had managed partnerships with two major telco companies that would be helpful in deploying fifth-generation mobile and cellular networks.

Musk said investment costs before Starlink achieves fully positive cash flow would be $5-$10 billion.

Starlink offers internet to the remotest parts of the world through low orbit satellites. It will most likely be able to provide global coverage by September, according to the company’s president, Gwynne Shotwell. The network has already garnered over 500,000 preorders for its service It has more than 1,800 satellites aloft and plans to deploy another 12,000 satellites at the cost of roughly $10 billion. Currently, it offers beta services in 11 countries, adding more every month. The current customer base is 69,000.

Musk said during his video call that the company was losing money on its Starlink terminals that receive the signals from the satellites for broadband beaming.

The terminals cost $1,000 to make, and the company sells them for $500 – plus a $99 monthly subscription. The company will soon release a new model of its terminal, which will be cheaper to make, he said.

The high cost of investment is a point of worry for some analysts who fear that services are aimed at people living in remote parts of the world and they will not be able to afford the high tariffs needed to cover the costs.

According to analyst Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates, Starlink needs a few million subscribers to pay $99 a month to recoup a $5 billion investment in a year’s time.

And to achieve the ambitious $30 billion revenue a year that Musk talks about, it would require tens of millions of subscribers to achieve.

Once it is able to give continuous internet services, the company will seek the required regulatory approvals. SpaceX has got approval from the US Federal Communications Commission this year to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned to provide high-speed broadband internet services.

There are some reservations about deploying so many satellites at such low orbits. Astronauts fear that they will obstruct observations and even create some signal interference.

SpaceX is working with NASA and other research labs to minimize the risk to the astronauts and the space observatory. Plans are to tilt the angle of the satellite and paint it black to stop reflection from the Sun. But will it be enough is yet to be seen.

The Starlink team is in talks with “several” airlines to beam internet to their airplanes, the project’s vice president Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX’s VP of Starlink and commercial sales, told a panel at the Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit.

The post Musk’s Starlink needs $30 billion investment to be viable appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.