What if I told you that a 164-foot-high flying Pez machine that dispenses 450-pound candies into place is about to alter how the world uses the internet and, possibly, even become the world’s first trillionaire?
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No, I did not lose ammonia with my Twinkies this morning.
On New Year’s Eve, SpaceX unveiled the second film render of the company’s large Starship deploying the all-new Version 3 Starlink internet spacecraft— and revealed two jaw-dropping features. Don’t fret if those figures don’t have any perspective because Friendly Neighborhood VodkaPunditTM is here to assist you.
Before we get to the nitty gritty information, watch the video, and you’ll realize why Elon Musk likes to joke about his flying Pez dispensers.
Each of those Pez chocolates is a third-generation Starlink internet dish that is more than 400 pounds and the size of a table.  ,
This then approach the figures in a way that even a layperson with no understanding of math you understand.
” Immediately, Starship will launch our V3 Starlink spacecraft, which will increase 60 Tbps of power to the community per launch”, SpaceX announced, “more than 20x per Falcon 9 launch today”.
These are gigabytes per minute. A heavy computer users, like my family’s two work-from-home kids and two teenagers, consumes about one gigabyte each month. If my mathematics is right, every gigabyte of Starlink capacity can provide almost 2.5 million customers.
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In 2024, StapceX flew 89 focused Starlink launch at a cost of approximately$ 30 million each. Visit it$ 2.7 billion in establish costs. Come round up the number of launches needed to get the same amount of functional bandwidth using Starship and add some more connectivity for our content customers.
The goal is to get Starship costs down to just$ 2 million per launch, or$ 10 million to put up more than 60 terabytes of capacity. The least expensive method of orbiting is already Falcon 9, which costs 270 times more per planetary gigabyte than Starship. That’s a combination of Starship’s lower launch costs and the more prominent V3 satellites that didn’t release on Falcon 9.  ,
( I’m ignoring the cost of the spacecraft themselves, estimated at a simple$ 500, 000 every— or about 600 times cheaper than a second terrestrial communications dish. That’s for the latest V2 little model. Although V3 is likely more expensive, it will also be much more competent. I’m even leaving out alternative fees. These Low Earth Orbit spacecraft may be replaced every five to ten years.
Now, Starlink says it has 4.6 million paying clients. However, if my estimations are accurate, it already has enough speed for another million before Starship drastically lowers the cost.
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If Elon Musk decides to wage a price war with Comcast or other terrestrial-bound internet service providers ( ISP), he will prevail in the battle that surrounds him, at least in the “burbs” and rural areas where Starlink makes the most sense. There can only be so numerous Starlink satellites flying aloft at once, and urban areas can experience gridlock as a result. Then again, I’m no secret to how much speed V4 or V5 species will provide. Perhaps there is a solution to industrial overcrowding.  ,
A swift look at the orbit competition reveals… not much competition. One X users claimed that “one start beats every different satellite provider already operating in the US combined.” ” Hughesnet ( the largest competitor by far ), according to Grok, has a total network capacity of 30-50Tbps”. And the company is worse, also. Hughes doesn’t feel Falcon 9’s start expenses, much less Starship’s.  ,
Starlink is getting into the laptop match, too, with its” Direct to Cell” services. According to Grok, the company “enables text messaging, voice calls, and information accessibility straight from observatories to your telephone without needing special equipment or software” and “works with existing LTE phones as long as there is a clear view of the sky.”
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Imagine a future version that would automatically transfer your cell phone to a neighborhood Starlink transceiver (until you get one ). Just like ISPs, the cellphone service industry is ripe for disruption, and Starlink could do just that.
SpaceX is valued today at$ 350 billion, with Musk’s share at about$ 180 billion. The business is on the verge of explosive growth as both an ISP and as a launch provider that can launch previously unattainable payloads into space and orbit.
That flying Pez dispenser might just make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.  ,
Recommended:  , Obama and Biden Just Achieved the Impossible
P.S. I’m glad my PJ colleagues are here to report on the escalating repression in New Orleans and Las Vegas, or I might have to make a pledge to write at least one positive, forward-looking column every day.