Cool! Not Only Broadband Internet, Starlink SpaceX Satellite Can For GPS

Suara.com – Recent research shows satelit Starlink SpaceX can be used for navigation and global positioning, in addition to their core function of Internet broadband.

Engineering researchers outside SpaceX discovered how to use the Starlink constellation signals for navigation, similar to the capabilities provided by global positioning satellites (GPS).

The study is the first time Starlink has been used for navigation by researchers outside of SpaceX, team members said.

The researchers triangulated signals from six Starlink satellites to correct locations on Earth to an accuracy of less than 27 feet (eight meters), the team reported in a statement.

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That’s quite comparable to the GPS capabilities of a smartphone, which usually pinpoints your place on Earth within 16 feet (4.9 m), depending on conditions.

“We captured the signal and then designed a sophisticated algorithm to pinpoint the location, and we demonstrated that it works very accurately,” study author Zak Kassas, director of the Center for Automated Vehicle Research with Multimodal Assured Navigation (CARMEN) at Ohio State University, said.

According to him, although Starlink was not designed for navigational purposes, the researchers demonstrated that it is possible to study parts of the system quite well by using it for navigation.

The researchers developed their navigation system without any assistance from SpaceX, or any access to shared data over a broadband connection.

Instead, they used signals from multiple satellites and developed algorithms to find positions on Earth.

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Next, they placed the antenna on the campus of the University of California, Irvine in an attempt to locate it using Starlink.

Their experiment placed the approximate position of the antenna, using Starlink signals, within 25 feet (7.7 m) of its actual position.

“The algorithm and Starlink working together are very accurate compared to previous projects the team has worked on,” Kassas said. Space, Sunday (26/9/2021).

Another constellation of low Earth orbit satellites focuses on locations up to about 75 feet (23 meters).

A project unrelated to the US Air Force, to determine the location of high-altitude aircraft, yielded an accuracy of 16.5 feet (5 meters).

Kassas notes that Starlink’s accuracy, using this methodology, will improve as more satellites in the fleet fly into orbit.

SpaceX has about 1,700 working satellites today, the team said, but the company hopes to launch more than 40,000 into orbit.

The researchers suggest this method of using Starlink navigation could complement traditional GPS navigation, the latter of which has vulnerabilities.

Because GPS has been around for a generation (over 30 years) and has a well-known signal, it is easy to use on a smartphone or vehicle, but also more “vulnerable to attack”.

Starlink also has an advantage with its altitude, orbiting about 750 miles (1,200 km), much closer to Earth than GPS in a geosynchronous orbit of nearly 23,500 miles (37,800 km).

While GPS has the advantage of being dedicated to a single region of the Earth, the downside of the remote advantage is that the signal is more susceptible to natural or artificial interference.

Starlink satellites are also launched more frequently, usually every few weeks, than GPS typically every few months or years, allowing Starlink to perform hardware upgrades more frequently.

Coincidentally, in recent years SpaceX has launched several GPS satellites for the US Space Force.

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