Japan Launches "Super-Speed" Internet Satellite

A number of readers wrote in about the launch this morning of a Japanese H-2A rocket carrying a Kizuna ("Winds") satellite into orbit. Kizuna is intended to provide "super high-speed data transmission" for Japan and Southeast Asia. The news stories on the launch, such as the AP's linked here, are short on technical detail. For example they say the satellite successfully achieved orbit 175 miles above the earth — hardly suitable for Internet communications to a specific area on the surface (remember Teledesic?). Reader nebulus4 provided a link to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency site with an illustration and a little more detail. Such as the fact that Kizuna is destined for geosync orbit, and that a 45-cm antenna will equip eventual users for 155 Mbps down / 6 Mbps up, whereas a 5-m antenna will allow enterprises and ISPs to tap into 1.2 Gbps down. Given the latency to geosync orbit, you probably wouldn't want to use Kizuna to play an online shooter.

Re:Now featuring...

[BSAtHome]

Ehm, you also have to get back down, so that is 240ms minimum...

Re:Geosynchronous Latency

[Pros_n_Cons]

That just means that you need to have a large TCP window to compensate the large bandwidth-delay product. No real problem. The connection sucks for anything interactive, but bulk is just fine.

I've got satellite. Latency effects more than you think. Yes for big files its fine but p2p, web surfing, voip, if you voice chat. Sometimes my latency is 2-3000ms. id rather have a 384kb dsl line at home and just grab my .iso's at work.

Bit more details here

[mindas]

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Japan_successfully_launches_high-speed_Internet_satellite_999.html [space-travel.com]

175 miles

[heroine]

175 miles is the separation altitude for the rocket. Satellites usually boost themselves to geostationary orbit. The Delta IV heavy can blast all the way to geostationary orbit but no-one can afford it.

Kizuna = "Bonds" not "Winds"

[jmf]

The name of the satellite has been mistranslated: 'kizuna' () means bonds [msmobiles.com] (as in 'family bonds') and not 'winds', which makes a lot more sense given the satellite's function.

Re:You cannot be serious

[daBass]

You laugh about the Kiwis, but we get virtually all our internet here in Oz via the Souther Cross Cable [wikipedia.org] system. A system with NO australian ownership whatsoever. The majority owner? Telecom New Zealand, with a 50% stake.

Yup, if it weren't for the Kiwis we'd still be sending our email by morse code. (The next biggest cable, between Australia and Japan isn't anywhere near big enough and came online several years after the SCC)

Gotta hand it to them; they wanted a big cable for themselves but probably couldn't make it profitable - so they extended it over here and not only are they taking our money via their virtual monopoly, we gladly allow them to do so because no Australian telecom could be f***ed in late 1990s to get us seriously hooked up.

Re:Kizuna = "Bonds" not "Winds"

[tkh]

I had thought the same thing, but that's not correct. If you look at the JAXA page on the nickname [www.jaxa.jp], Kizuna is the nickname and the official name is WINDS (spelled all uppercase) which is an acronym. It's very confusing though.

Re:You cannot be serious

[tubapro12]

Too bad you're wrong, Mr. Troll: those phrases haven't been around for "cednturies [sic]." The phrase third world [etymonline.com] was coined by Alfred Sauvy in the 1950s. He also retroactively coined the words first world and second world to apply to already existent categorical differences between the Democratic West and the Communist East. I believe the phrase you confused with first world is the Old World. However, the Old World does not merely apply to the wealthy European nations, but all of Eurasia and Africa as well.