I took this photo when it just took off. Not the best photo, but when I saw it take off, there was no tail number, or anything to identify who was operating the plane. I went to ADSB right after I saw it take off, and it showed up on there with no information, and said the plane has no call sign. Then one minute later, the plane completely disappeared from the ADSB map. Any idea what this plane is or who is operating it?
SpaceX indeed! Just found an article on it.
https://www.twz.com/spacex-appears-to-be-flying-this-slick-looking-737
Thanks!
SpaceX is also working very hard to certify Starlink on the 737.
Do you mean to serve the purpose as internet signal emitter/booster? Or to provide internet on the plane using starlink?
Pretty sure Starlink already provides passenger data services to airlines.
This is probably to certify the aircraft systems.
ALOT of avionics use geosynchronous satellite systems which are expensive, bandwidth limited, latitude limited, and high latency.
Moving those avionics over to LEO systems would be MUCH better.
That's actually intelsat.
Pretty sure this is an attempt to capture that market.
Oh well puts on Intelsat then.
They're about to be steamrolled.
They were already struggling so there's opportunity
Satcomms is a numbers game now.
Anyone without ridiculously deep pockets are going to get squeezed out, anyone still in the game will make probably some of the most reliable and highest margin revenue short of selling drugs.
And advantage goes to the satellite launch company for margins.
There are a multitude of providers in the space. I’m probably forgetting some, so this is not an exhaustive list:
Satellite operators that provide maritime and airborne connectivity systems and services: - ViaSat/Inmarsat (GEO) - Intelsat/Gogo (Multi-Orbit/ATG) - Telesat (LEO) - SpaceX (LEO) - Kuiper (LEO, not operating yet) - Eutelsat/OneWeb (Polar LEO) - Telenor (Multi-Orbit) - SES/O3b (MEO)
Maritime/Airborne Connectivity Providers who aggregate leased satellite capacity from multiple satellite operators:
They do, but any system that is installed on an airplane has to go through an extensive integration and testing process to receive a Supplemental Type Certification, or STC, which has to be done for every single type and configuration of aircraft that they want to install on. The more types it’s certified on, the more potential customers there are.
The STC covers specific combinations of equipment, and once certified, you cannot change anything about it without updating that certification. if the vendor so much as changes a resistor supplier for a circuit board, it has to be recertified. Even major operating system updates to, say, the server that powers the inflight entertainment and connectivity require it.
Once you have an STC for something, there is strong incentive to Leave It The Hell Alone unless you have a really good reason to change it.
This goes for everything from inflight WiFi to seat cushions.
Perhaps that's why Space-X is doing it now.
Their 'Silicon Valley style' iterative development approach wouldn't have worked in aviation until it was sufficiently mature that it doesn't need constant improvements and development.
That said, certifying on the 737 and the A321 would cover a big chunk of the market on just those two airframes.
That and when they walk into an airline to sell their service, pretty much the first question the airline has is which aircraft in their fleet the vendor has STCs for (or is close to getting them, because every fleet has slightly different configurations). And it’s a different STC for retrofit and for linefit.
New Airbus aircraft typically come with a built in Ethernet bus throughout the aircraft, and that has specific security requirements for connecting to. on Boeing you generally have to wire for specific purposes (although the 787 may be different), and every airline does it a bit differently in terms of where in the aircraft the equipment lives.
The industry is moving toward multi-orbit, and that generally requires an ESA on the roof because current mechanical/gimbaled antennas cannot switch from GEO to LEO instantaneously the way an ESA can.
I've never seen gimbal antennas for LEO systems. They're all ESA as far as I know.
That said, ESA antennas are far better in terms of size, power, reliability, and service life. Not to mention LEOs advantages at high latitudes.
Latitude wouldn’t be a significant factor for LEO…
All JSX Aircraft have Starlink available.
Worked well in my experience.
JSX doesn’t fly 737s though. SpaceX was able to get a STC for the E145 early on, because it’s a very straightforward setup requiring a single access point in the cabin, and the satellite receiver.
What makes you say that?
Why wouldn't they be? The 737 is the most produced commercial airliner ever. They are probably doing the same with the AB A320 as well, if I had to guess. Just think about it. It's a logical move.
Hawaiian already has Starlink operational on 320s
Makes sense, I was just curious what moves they were making, not the feasibility of it. More so interested for the sake of LEO entering legacy providers’ markets.
Almost all of the “legacy providers” are already offering multi-orbit in some way or another.
… they want to sell starlink on one of the most common aircraft types in the world?
I love this article! Many Thanks!
N154TS - registration visible in that video
Stupid ass Elon trying to be cool, he needs to fuck off with his bullshit. Changing twitter to X and now we have mysterious looking 737’s. What’s next
A big huge thermonuclear lawsuit for free speech…wait no, that failed spectacularly.
P diddy heading for Bolivia.
The only time Bolivia gets mentioned anywhere is when something is bad 😭
That’s not true… we also use Peru that way!
bro wouldn’t last 1 hour in Lima on his own.
I wouldn’t last 10 mins inside of Adriana Lima. An hour is crazy
☠️☠️☠️
Beat me to it...
I don’t Bolivia. You’ll have to Peru-ve it.
SpaceX shuttle plane but it’s cleverly painted in a greyscale version of the JANET shuttle
Janet’s Emo sister.
That’s SpaceX
No, it's Patrick
Diddy land yet?
All black… shows shades of white and other colors.
Mostly gray.
Saw that landing in San Jose. I always assumed you need to have tail number present, but apparently not.
Edit: on the picture in the article, it does show the number. It is much less apparent from the ground while landing.
No you didn’t 😉
Is this the new “what color is the dress?” BS because I’m too sober for this
I figured it was Shaun Combs😬
Sean* That’s chess not checkers😏
please explain this comment someone, chess not checkers?
You didnt see that plane! Do you understand ? No blacked out plane missing tail numbers.
P Diddy fleeing the country
Former owner Air Chiiiiina! FSN 30515 21.8 years old Falcon aviation holdings.
What are these MSF 2004 graphics
Luxor
The paint makes it look like CGI
Registered to Falcon Aviation.
Diddy flying out
That's a nice catch!
Diddy
Diddy on his way to the Caribbean ahead of the feds
P5
Stealth 737
That’s pretty sweet!
The Men in Black🤪
P Fiddly Diddy
Hide your towers
P diddy plane
It's Disaster Area's stunt ship. It's in it's way to Milliways.
Luckily it is no US U2 Spy plane. '-'
Batman
BAT PLANE.
No you didn’t.
Did you? That’s just what they want you to believe, hahaha!
Wasn't this Diddy fleeing?
Diddy and 5 big bags full of cash!
Interesting that it’s SpaceX, but why no markings? What makes them special? Why would they want to be clandestine?
Elon gets annoyed when people track his airplanes.
There’s a viral story of P Diddy trying to flee the US before the Feds crashed all his properties. Supposedly was a black private jet that took off this morning. I don’t think this is it, but crazy similarities if so lol
Yep, looks like a sim. And a bad one. Can you post the real, unzoomed, pic?
One way to tell is trees- Sims don't quite yet have the same level of detail on trees as everything else. If this were a low res shot on the Sim, the trees would be even less defined, and since there are details still visible even despite the blurriness, you can tell it's a photo. If this were a high graphics screenshot of a Sim, it might look closer but the amount of variety and abnormalities would be tough to replicate, usually they have a few stock tree textures or shapes and conform various areas to meet the needs of the landscape.
SpaceX