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Elon Musk, the man behind the Tesla and CEO of Hawthorne-based SpaceX, has his eye on the sky.
The tech futurist is now working with former Google executive and WorldVu Satellites founder Greg Wyler to launch a fleet of about 700 satellites, each weighing less than 250 pounds, to enhance internet communications the world over, according to a report in last Friday's Wall Street Journal.
[ibimage==34013==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-right]The keywords here are 'smaller' and 'cheaper.' Musk and Wyler's theoretical devices would weigh less than half of the lightest satellite in current commercial use. The two are in discussions with officials in Colorado and Florida in possible hopes of building their own factories, making the initiative easier to scale and allowing SpaceX to retain full control of production.
Granted, something like this would cost $1 billion on the inside, and the continued involvement of Mr. Musk is not guaranteed. WorldVu currently owns a large slice of the radio spectrum, but that may change by the end of the decade, and the satellite fleet isn't expected to be built before then. Other similar efforts have faced unforeseen financial, technological, and negotiation difficulties.
If the new venture goes forward, it will enter into competition with Surrey Satellite Technology and Sierra Nevada Corp., among others. Although Wyler proposed a similar idea to Google before he left to work with Musk, the search giant has so far reserved comment on this story.
UPDATE: Elon Musk confirmed through a Tweet that SpaceX is indeed working on these satellites, with a major announcement on the way in the next few months.
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