[jacquesm]

> if there's anything in particular you'd like me to expand upon I'd be happy to

Since you asked :)

How much of this is relying on phased array antennae on the satellite and does that mean you won't have to aim a dish or will the downlink for residential require a tracking antenna or do those also work using phased arrays these days?

[artimaeis]

Wow! That's an excellent question that I only barely know about. I'll give as much of an explanation as I'm able to and I apologize to any enthusiasts who cringe at my response!

So I'm not sure where Musk's project is going to go - as schiffern stated below it seems they're going to go with a LOS phased array, and if they've actually got the price down that low with stable performance then they've really brought some incredible innovation to the field!

As I understand - ViaSat1 used a hybrid design antenna in space that allows them to do some pretty incredible things on the ground. Consumer internet is provided via traditional Ka-band ground antennae that have to be carefully positioned and installed. They also have services for Ku-band, S-band, and L-band antennae. These applications do generally use some form of phased array antennae so that they don't have to use any sort of mechanical tracking apparatus.

Needless to say, I'm mad excited for Musk pouring some funding and engineering efforts into such an awesome project!

[jacquesm]

Thank you for the answer. The first time I tried to get my head wrapped around phased array antennae I utterly failed, a bit better the second time around. That's some high-class voodoo, along the lines of 'indistinguishable from magic'.

Pretty curious what the consumer package will look like and what capabilities it will have.

[schiffern]

Musk says they'll use line-of-sight phased array ground receivers, in the $100-300 range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHeZHyOnsm4