New Moon
28 days old
2.6 percent lit
June 11, 2015
By Cecilia Kang, Christian Davenport
Elon Musk's (click here) space company has asked the US government for permission to begin testing on an ambitious project to beam internet service from space, a significant step forward for an initiative that could create another major competitor to telecom companies.
The plan calls for launching a constellation of 4000 small and cheap satellites that will beam high-speed internet signals to all parts of the globe, including its most remote regions. Musk has said the effort "would be like rebuilding the internet in space."
If successful, the attempt could transform the L.A.-based SpaceX from a pure rocket company into a massive high-speed internet provider that would take on major companies in the developed world but also make first-time customers out of the billions of people who are currently not online....
