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SpaceX successfully launched 88 spacecraft, including three Starlink satellites, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 30. (SpaceX/Twitter)
Live music capital of the world. Heart of Texas. And global hub of space-based telecommunications?
Austin will soon be home to a SpaceX factory, where it will manufacture dishes, Wi-Fi routers and mounting hardware for its internet satellite project Starlink, according to recent job postings.
Elon Musk's aerospace venture has not said when it will be built or where, although there is speculation it could be near the Tesla Gigafactory site in Southeast Travis County. But two things are certain: Starlink is essential to SpaceX's valuation that will fund travel to Mars, and a manufacturing facility would only stand to bolster Austin's tech cred.
"As Austin grows … anything that suggests technology probably enhances its standing," said Sharon Strover, who directs the Technology & Information Policy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Starlink customer
Starlink is a high-speed, low-latency satellite internet service enabled by a constellation of more than 1,700 low Earth satellites and well suited for populations with little or no connectivity, such as rural areas, according to the SpaceX website.
The service will cater to the most remote 3% to 5% of customers in the world, Musk said at the Mobile World Congress conference last month. While Austin doesn't exactly fall into that category—despite the widening broadband access gap—rural Texans who are not served by major telecommunications companies, such as AT&T, could benefit.
But will they be able to afford it? Right now, it costs around $500 to order a Starlink dish, plus another $100 a month for service. "That's pretty up there compared to what we pay in metro areas," Strover said.
Still, the Starlink market could take off as internet use evolves, with satellites possibly guiding self-driving cars and other objects composing the Internet of Things. "That's all got to be part of planning for the future and the future internet needs," she said.
Either way, SpaceX will require an Earth-side support system, of which the Austin facility will serve a crucial role. "Any service provider from space that is localized is going to require infrastructure on both sides," said Richard Leshner, vice president of consulting at BryceTech.
In addition to the forthcoming Austin Starlink factory, Musk tweeted on Saturday that SpaceX will soon built a second plant in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, in support of its Starship ride-share to Mars program. The plant will make 800 to 1,000 rocket engines per year. "That's about what's needed over ten years to create the fleet and build a self-sustaining city on Mars," he added.
The new Space Age
Musk said Starlink recently surpassed 69,420 active users in 12 countries and could have as many as 500,000—"a wildly ambitious goal," according to The Verge—at the same conference.
All 72 orbital planes activate in August, plus many other improvements, enabling global coverage, except for polar regions, which will take another 6 months
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 25, 2021
A 2017 Wall Street Journal report revealed that SpaceX aimed to generate more than $30 billion in satellite internet revenue by 2025 to fund its Starship program. But the Starlink project is far from profitable. "Before we go to positive cash flow, it'll be at least $5 billion, and maybe as much as $10 (billion)," Musk said at the conference. "So it's quite a lot."
Paolo Pescatore, a technology, media and telecommunications analyst for PP Foresight, thinks positive cash flow could be years away given the steep startup costs. "Even then, (Starlink) will need huge adoption, which in itself is big 'if,' given the acceleration of fiber and 5G rollout plans," he wrote in an email to Austonia.
In addition to on-the-ground competition, SpaceX faces rivals in the space-based global telecommunications space, including Viasat, OneWeb, Boeing and Amazon, some of which have complained to regulators that Starlink satellites are interfering with their own.
Although SpaceX benefits from a "first-mover advantage," it will continue to encounter technical hurdles, such as successful launches and satellite maintenance, and regulatory red tape that differs from country to country, Leshner said.
But if SpaceX can sidestep possible bankruptcy and tackle these obstacles, there is an upside. The space-based telecommunications market is a bigger and more lucrative market than the space launch market, he added, meaning that SpaceX's prediction that Starlink could eventually fund its Spaceship program may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
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9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday | The Driskill Hotel, 604 Brazos St.
😂 Moontower Comedy Presents Hannah Gadsby
Catch veteran Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby touring with her newest show, “Body of Work,” written while she pondered the effects of the pandemic. Tickets are still available in the orchestra section, starting at $60.
Doors at 6 p.m. Friday | The Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave.
🎤 Rex Orange County Who Cares? Tour
Alexander James O'Connor, AKA Rex Orange County, is returning to Austin to perform his newest album, “Who Cares?” Tickets are still available starting at $49 each.
Doors at 7:30 p.m. Friday | Germania Insurance Amphitheater, 9201 Circuit of The Americas Blvd.
⚾️ Round Rock Express vs. El Paso Chihuahuas
Catch our local Minor League team play against the El Paso Chihuahuas at home this week. Tickets start at $22.
Starting 7:05 p.m. Friday | Dell Diamond, 3400 E Palm Valley Blvd.
🎶 Bleachers—The 2022 Tour
Enjoy a night of indie-pop from Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff, whose stage name is Bleachers, from the intimacy of Stubb’s. Tickets are still available starting at $33.
Starting 7:05 p.m. Saturday | Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater, 801 Red River St.🎸 The Peterson Brothers with Latasha Lee
Catch the groovy, Bastrop-born brothers are taking their rightful place on stage with soulstress Latasha Lee at Antone’s. Arrive early, seating fills up quickly! The show is 21+ and tickets start at $15.
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🤠 Emmanuel Acho and Matthew McConaughey Q&A
Famous former Longhorns Emmanuel Acho and Matthew McConaughey are joining forces for a Q&A about catching greenlights and living a limitless life. Each ticket will get the holder a copy of Acho’s new book, “Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits.” Tickets are $39 per person.
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⚽️ Austin FC vs. Orlando City
Austin FC is facing off against Orlando City at the biggest party in Austin, Q2 Stadium. Tickets are still available starting at $65 but ticketless Verde fans can still support at one of the many Pub Clubs.
7 p.m. Sunday | Q2 Stadium, 10414 Mc Kalla Pl.Over a year after its first loss, Austin FC was all smiles as it beat LAFC to take home the top MLS West spot Wednesday. (Austin FC/Twitter)
Over a year after they took the stage for the first time in Los Angeles, Austin FC returned to Banc of America Stadium to snatch the No. 1 spot from LAFC in a 2-1 statement win late Wednesday night.
Austin FC, which has flirted with the top spot in the MLS West this season, has now solidly reached the summit just a year after its second-to-last first season finish. The new top dogs are now 7-2-3 overall.
Here's a look at three highlights from the match:
Flashback in LA
For many Austin FC fans and naysayers alike, the match was more than a fight for the MLS West throne: it also served as a symbol of how far the team has come.
The two clubs first met on the Banc of America pitch as Austin FC saw its first game and first loss all at once in a 2-0 battle last April. It was an exciting but shaky start to the club's first season, and the loss seemed to set the tone for the rest of its inaugural year as the club dipped to second to last in the conference.
If Austin's first season was hallmarked by its first match, then its second-year success was foretold by its back-to-back five-goal victories to kick off the season.
Since then, the club has battled its own first-year shadow, claims of "bonus games" and a few unexpected obstacles—both on and off the pitch—but it has almost always come out on top.
That fight to the top was fully realized Wednesday, even as the club played its toughest opponent yet. Even with a man down in the middle due to Daniel Pereira's red card last game, the club kept its cool through even the trickiest moments of the match. Jhojan Valencia, who patched the Pereira hole in midfield, got his first MLS start and first MLS assist as Ruben Gabrielsen scored the first goal of the game.
Gabrielsen's goal
Nice turn and finish.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2022
Ruben Gabrielsen opens the scoring in LA for @AustinFC. pic.twitter.com/OMdTYgqS1x
Gabrielsen came to Austin FC as a potential hero for the team's center back position, but the club's resident Viking has already nabbed two goals in his first season with the team.
"That's center forward material," Austin FC announcer Adrian Healey said as Gabrielsen took control of Valencia's pass, paused to fake out the defense, and calmly tucked the ball into the left corner to complete the first goal of the match.
Feel-good Fagundez
🗣️ @AustinFC is off and running!@DiegolFagundez finds the short corner to make it a 2-0 lead in LA. pic.twitter.com/jgUr2IJQNe
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2022
Even as LAFC dominated possession for much of the match, Austin FC saw another wide-open goal opportunity crumble as midfielder Diego Fagundez's shot hit the corner goalpost in the 23rd minute.
But Fagundez wasn't finished. The midfielder was short on his Verde hair dye but full of surprises as he nimbly sunk a shot over LAFC defense to make it 2-0 with 10 minutes to go.
Fagundez, who has spent more time setting up goals for his teammates (becoming the No. 1 assister in the MLS in the process), finally took the center stage with his second goal this season.
Owen Wolff, head coach Josh Wolff's own son, had a scoring opportunity of his own foiled by the goalpost as he started his first MLS match as one of the youngest starters in the league this season.
But Austin FC wouldn't score again; instead, LAFC powerhouse Carlos Vela made the win a bit trickier in the 86th minute as he got past Austin keeper Brad Stuver to cut the lead in half. The other Wolff quickly subbed in a five-prong defense as the club kept steady for the final 10 painstaking minutes to win the match.
BONUS: Stuver's career-making match
Six saves on the night in LA for Brad Stuver! 🚫 pic.twitter.com/02V6hcUd3Y
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2022
After two weeks on the bench due to a knee gash, Austin's star keeper Brad Stuver had the Stuver-iest match of all time (yes, we're making it a word) as he pulled off six saves to help his team to No. 1.
Stuver looked like a pinball machine as he pulled off save after save with his feet, hands and body to keep it nearly 100% clean on the back end.
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