[Satellite TODAY 01-20-11] Canadian satellite manufacturer Microsat Systems Canada Inc. (MSCI) plans to launch a network of 78 small, low-flying satellites designed to help relieve network congestion caused by smartphones, the company announced Jan. 19.
    The MSCI project, called CommStellation, will operate in low-Earth orbit and provide competition with O3b, the Google-backed satellite broadband access company, MSCI said.
    “We will be able to use more ordinary electronics with our lower-elevation satellites. Medium-orbit satellites, such as O3b’s, need components with higher reliability in order to withstand the temperature and radiation rigors of space. MSCI’s satellites are also relatively small, meaning that 14 can be packed into a single launch rocket compared with O3b’s 4 four satellites. And much less power is required to transmit data to and from the MSCI’s satellites since they’re closer to Earth,” the company said in a statement.