really isn't that different from what we had 50 years ago.

真的和我們50年前的情況沒有什麼不同。

It's gotten bigger.

它變得更大了。

We have better wireless,

我們有更好的無線網絡。

and we've switched from copper wires to fiber optic cable.

而且我們已經從銅線換成了光纜。

But it's still one big, physically connected system.

但它仍然是一個大的、物理上相連的系統。

A kind of arterial network strung between telephone poles

懸掛在電線杆之間的一種幹線網絡

and lace through underground conduits,

和通過地下管道的花邊。

connecting basically every computer in the world.

基本上連接世界上的每一臺計算機。

But that might be about to change.

但這種情況可能即將改變。

A handful of companies are trying to build

少數公司正試圖建立

a new type of internet,

一種新型的互聯網。

one that doesn't run on physical cables.

一個不在物理電纜上運行的。

And instead of going underground,

而不是轉入地下。

they're building it in space.

他們正在太空中建造它。

(light music)

(輕音樂)

This is what a satellite-based internet would look like.

這就是基於衛星的互聯網會是什麼樣子。

Hundreds or even thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth.

數百甚至數千顆衛星圍繞著地球運行。

It's expensive to launch and maintain a network like this,

啟動和維護這樣一個網絡的成本很高。

but there are already a few up and running.

但已經有一些人開始運行了。

SpaceX is Starlink project is probably the most famous.

SpaceX的Starlink項目可能是最著名的。

Thanks Elon.

謝謝伊隆。

But OneWeb is also fleshing out its satellite constellation

但OneWeb也在充實其衛星星座的內容

and Amazon's Project Kuiper secured a massive contract

和亞馬遜的Kuiper項目獲得了一個巨大的合同

to launch a plan 3,236 satellites.

發射計劃中的3,236顆衛星。

There have been satellite

已有衛星

internet services available before,

之前提供的互聯網服務。

but those have been geosynchronous satellites.

但那些都是地球同步衛星。

Maintaining a stable orbit over a specific spot on Earth.

在地球上的一個特定地點保持穩定的軌道。

That orbit only works if the satellites

該軌道只有在衛星

are at a specific altitude, just over 22,000 miles up,

是在一個特定的高度，剛剛超過22,000英里的高空。

which is so far away

這是很遙遠的

that the services tend to have awful latency.

這些服務往往有可怕的延時。

The new generation of satellite internet systems

新一代的衛星互聯網系統

are doing it differently.

正在以不同的方式進行。

They're putting their satellites

他們正在把他們的衛星

in low to medium Earth orbit between 200-1200 miles up,

在200-1200英里高的中低地球軌道上。

which means you can finally get

這意味著你終於可以得到

a low enough latency to make internet service really work.

一個足夠低的延遲，使互聯網服務真正發揮作用。

The lower orbit also means the satellites

較低的軌道也意味著衛星

have to go a lot faster to keep from falling.

必須走得更快，才能不掉下去。

So they're always moving around relative

所以他們總是相對地移動

to a particular spot on Earth.

到地球上的一個特定地點。

To make it work, you need a whole network of satellites.

為了使其發揮作用，你需要一個完整的衛星網絡。

So when one drops out of line of sight,

所以當一個人掉到視線之外的時候。

there's already another one coming into view.

已經有另一個人進入了視野。

- One thing that I think gets lost

- 我認為有一件事被忽略了

when we talk about space space internet

當我們談及太空空間互聯網

is just how reliant these systems

是這些系統是多麼依賴

are on ground-based infrastructure.

是在地面的基礎設施上。

So in order to tap into a constellation like Starlink,

是以，為了挖掘像星聯這樣的星座。

you need to use a terminal that relays signals

你需要使用一個能傳遞信號的終端

to a satellite that's orbiting overhead.

到一個在頭頂上運行的衛星。

That satellite then needs to relay those signals down

然後，該衛星需要將這些信號轉發下去

to a ground station

到一個地面站

that's connected to existing fiber optic infrastructure.

這是與現有的光纖基礎設施相連的。

That ground station then relays those signals

然後該地面站轉發這些信號

back to the satellite, which then relays them back to you

返回到衛星，然後由衛星將它們轉發給你

and your user terminal.

和你的用戶終端。

But without those ground stations,

但沒有這些地面站。

the entire system wouldn't work.

整個系統就無法運作。

And so you need them populated

是以，你需要他們彈出

in certain locations all over the globe.

在全球各地的某些地方。

And you need to be within several 100 miles

而且你需要在幾個100英里範圍內

of those ground stations

這些地面站的

in order for you to get the communications that you need.

以使你獲得你需要的通信。

- Think back to that big network

- 回想一下那個大網絡

we showed you at the beginning.

我們在一開始就給你看了。

We take for granted that major services

我們認為主要的服務是理所當然的

like YouTube and Netflix

如YouTube和Netflix

will operate out of regional data centers.

將在區域性數據中心運作。

And that those data centers

而且，這些數據中心

will be in central parts of the internet backbone.

將在互聯網骨幹網的中心部分。

Places like Northern Virginia and southeast London.

像弗吉尼亞州北部和倫敦東南部的地方。

But if a large portion of the internet users

但如果很大一部分互聯網用戶

are connecting through orbiting satellites,

正在通過軌道衛星進行連接。

that starts to look different.

這開始看起來不同。

For terrestrial networks,

對於地面網絡。

the hardest part is the last mile.

最困難的部分是最後一英里。

That last bit of fiber connecting

那最後一點連接的光纖

the backbone to your house.

你的房子的主幹。

It's the most expensive part of the network

它是網絡中最昂貴的部分

to build and also the most delicate to maintain.

構建，也是最微妙的維護。

So if you lose service,

是以，如果你失去了服務。

there's a good chance your neighbors did too.

很有可能你的鄰居也是如此。

And restoring it, it's just a question

並恢復它，這只是一個問題

of how quickly the local service crew can get out to you.

當地的服務人員能多快地趕到你那裡。

But that's not necessarily true for satellite internet.

但對於衛星互聯網來說，這不一定是真的。

And it could really change the economics

而且它真的可以改變經濟狀況

of how remote areas connect.

邊遠地區如何連接的問題。

Now, we're still a really long way from that happening.

現在，我們離這種情況的發生還有很長的路要走。

Right now the best case scenario

現在，最好的情況是

for these companies is having a small sliver

對於這些公司來說，有一小部分

of total users connecting through satellite networks.

通過衛星網絡連接的用戶總數的百分比。

But keeping that many satellites in the sky

但是在天空中保持那麼多的衛星

is still a huge engineering challenge,

仍然是一個巨大的工程挑戰。

and it can cause real problems.

而且會造成真正的問題。

- The astronomy community is very concerned about

- 天文學界非常關注

large mega constellations like this

像這樣的大型超大型星座

because of what kind of impacts

因為有什麼樣的影響

that can have on their research

這可能對他們的研究產生影響

and their study of the cosmos.

以及他們對宇宙的研究。

So in order to study distant places in the universe,

是以，為了研究宇宙中遙遠的地方。

astronomers take long exposure images of the night sky.

天文學家對夜空進行長時間曝光的影像。

But the problem with these satellites

但這些衛星的問題是

is they're very reflective,

是他們非常善於反思。

and they can catch light from the sun.

而且它們可以捕捉到來自太陽的光線。

And when they pass over a telescope

當他們經過望遠鏡的時候

or an astronomer trying to take an image

或一個試圖拍攝影像的天文學家

of the distant universe,

遙遠的宇宙的。

that satellite reflecting sunlight

那顆反射太陽光的衛星

can leave a very long white streak through the image,

會在影像中留下一條很長的白色條紋。

effectively ruining their observation.

有效地破壞了他們的觀察。

Another major issue is the fact

另一個主要問題是

that low Earth orbit is getting even more crowded

低地球軌道正在變得更加擁擠

than ever before.

比以往任何時候都好。

And with these companies

而與這些公司

proposing to put thousands of satellites

擬將數以千計的衛星

into roughly the same area of space.

進入大致相同的空間區域。

Satellite trackers are concerned

衛星追蹤器受到關注

that the probability of collisions will increase.

碰撞的概率將增加。

And when things collide in space, it can be pretty nasty.

而當事物在太空中發生碰撞時，可能會相當糟糕。

These things are moving at roughly 17,500 miles per hour.

這些東西的移動速度大約為每小時17,500英里。

So if one satellite runs into another,

是以，如果一顆衛星跑到另一顆衛星上。

they can create thousands of pieces of debris

它們可以產生成千上萬的碎片

that sticks around in space

留在太空中的

that then threaten other satellites.

然後威脅到其他衛星。

- There are also practical issues

- 還有一些實際問題

that are still getting ironed out.

這一點仍在得到解決。

When our editor in chief Nilay Patel

當我們的主編Nilay Patel

tested Starlink in 2021,

在2021年測試了Starlink。

he said that at best the service could offer

他說，該服務最多隻能提供

inconsistent connectivity and huge latency swings.

不一致的連接和巨大的延遲波動。

The biggest problem is obstructions

最大的問題是障礙物

and the dishes line of sight to satellites.

以及對衛星的視線的菜餚。

Trees or even poles can cause service to cut out.

樹木甚至電線杆都可能導致服務中斷。

And since the satellites are always moving,

而且由於衛星總是在移動。

you really need a big strip of unobstructed sky.

你真的需要一大片無遮擋的天空。

The usual fix for that is to mount the dish

通常的解決方法是將碟片安裝在

as high as you possibly can.

儘可能的高。

But Starlink also warns that roof mounted dishes

但 "星聯 "也警告說，屋頂安裝的天線

can be blown loose in a storm.

可以在風暴中被吹散。

The company actually says you may wanna take the dish

該公司實際上說，你可能想把這道菜

inside during high wind events.

在大風天氣裡，在室內。

To be fair, Starlink has launched a lot more satellites

公平地說，"星鏈 "已經發射了更多的衛星。

since we reviewed it in 2021.

自從我們在2021年對其進行審查以來。

But a quick spin through Starlink's Reddit community

但是，在Starlink的Reddit社區中快速旋轉一下

shows latency swings, flagging download speeds

顯示延遲波動，標明下載速度

and dropped service are still very much an issue.

和服務中斷仍然是一個非常大的問題。

Still, there are places

儘管如此，還是有一些地方

where this kind of satellite internet

這種衛星互聯網在哪裡？

could really make sense.

可能真的有意義。

Lots of places in America

美國的很多地方

are still hugely underserved for broadband.

在寬帶方面的服務仍然嚴重不足。

And there are even more places like that

還有更多這樣的地方

in the rest of the world.

在世界其他地區。

The existing satellite projects

現有的衛星項目

aren't ready to fix that just yet.

現在還沒有準備好解決這個問題。

But the network keeps growing

但網絡不斷增長

and more areas keep coming online.

和更多地區不斷上線。

Even if Starlink can't make it work,

即使星聯公司不能使其發揮作用。

there's always OneWeb,

總是有OneWeb。

which is planning to launch full service at the end of 2022,

該公司正計劃在2022年底推出全面服務。

or Project Kuiper after that.

或之後的Kuiper項目。

And if he finally does happen,

而如果他最終真的發生了。

the internet could start to look a whole lot different.

互聯網可能會開始看起來完全不同。

Thanks for watching.

謝謝你的觀看。

We've written a bunch of other stuff.

我們已經寫了一堆其他的東西。

So if you wanna know more,

是以，如果你想知道更多。

there are links in the description

描述中有鏈接

including a link to that Starlink review we talked about.

包括一個我們談到的星際鏈接評論的鏈接。

And yeah, let us know in the comments what you thought.

是的，讓我們在評論中知道你的想法。