Ubiquitilink’s payload attached to a Cygnus cargo capsule in February | Image: NASA
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched to the International Space Station last week carried a tiny package that could eventually lead to the smartphone you have in your pocket getting cell service from space. If it works, the instrument could be a precursor to a giant constellation of thousands of mini-satellites that function as cell towers circulating all over the globe.
The package is the product of a startup called UbiquitiLink, the latest company to propose putting a mega-constellation of satellites into low orbit above Earth. But unlike many of these other proposed satellite projects — such as those of SpaceX, OneWeb, or Amazon — UbiquitiLink is not hoping to beam specialized internet connections from space. Instead, the company…