Starlink : SpaceX's satellite Internet Venture
Elon musk is launching satellites into orbit and promising to deliver high-speed broadband internet to as many people as possible.
When you think of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, chances are good that you think of his electric car company Tesla, his space exploration venture SpaceX, or maybe you think of him as one of the richest people on Earth.
What you may be less familiar with is a venture called Starlink, which aims to sell internet connections to almost anyone on the planet, via a growing network of private satellites orbiting overhead.
After years of development within SpaceX — and securing nearly $885.5 million in grant money from the Federal Communications Commission in late 2020 — Starlink gathered momentum in 2021. In January, after three years of successful launches, the project surpassed 1,000 satellites sent into orbit. After a year and dozens of successful launches, Starlink has nearly 2,000 functional satellites orbiting overhead.
Starlink's business is also booming. In February last year, Musk's company revealed that Starlink is serving more than 10,000 customers. Now, after expanding pre-orders to even more potential customers, releasing a second-gen home Internet satellite dish and exploring the possibility of providing in-flight Wi-Fi for passenger aircraft, Musk says Starlink has shipped over 100,000 satellite Internet terminals to customers. in 14 countries.
During a talk at Mobile World Congress in June, Musk told the audience that Starlink would be available worldwide (except for the North and South Poles) in August 2021, though regional availability would depend on regulatory approval. In September, Musk tweeted that Starlink would exit its early beta phase in October’21, which indicates that the service continues to accelerate and expand -- though the budding broadband provider faces a backlog of potential customers who may be looking to acquire the equipment. Waiting for the service to start.
Starlink is not without its controversies. Members of the scientific community have expressed concern about the impact of Starlink's low-Earth orbit satellites on night sky visibility. Meanwhile, satellite Internet competitors including Viasat, HughesNet and Amazon's Project Kuiper have also taken note of Starlink's speed, prompting regulatory expulsions and attempts to slow Musk.
What is Starlink, exactly?
Technically a division within SpaceX, Starlink Spaceflight is also the name of the company's growing network of -- or "constellations" -- orbital satellites. Development of that network began in 2015, with the first prototype satellites being launched into orbit in 2018.
In the years since, SpaceX has deployed nearly 2,000 Starlink satellites into orbit in dozens of successful launches, the most recent of which took place on February 3 and put another 49 satellites into orbit. This brings the total number of functional satellites in the constellation above 2,000, although some of those satellites are prototypes or non-operational units that are not performing network functions.
And those satellites can connect my home to the internet?
That's the idea, yes.
Like existing providers of satellite Internet such as HughesNet or Viasat, Starlink wants to sell Internet access – especially to people in rural areas and other parts of the world who don't already have access to high-speed broadband.
"Starlink is ideally suited for areas of the world where connectivity has generally been a challenge," the Starlink website reads. "Unaffected by traditional ground infrastructure, Starlink can deliver high-speed broadband Internet in locations where access is unreliable or completely unavailable."
All you have to do to make a connection is set up a small satellite dish at your home to receive the signal and pass the bandwidth to your router. The company offers several mounting options for terraces, yards and the exterior of your home. There's even a Starlink app for Android and iOS that uses augmented reality to help customers choose the best location and position for their receivers.
Starlink's service is only available in select areas in the US, Canada, and overseas at this point, but the service now boasts over 100,000 satellite terminals shipped to customers, and the coverage map will continue to grow as more satellites make their way across the constellation. . Eventually, Starlink hopes to coax the entire planet into a usable, high-speed Wi-Fi signal.
How fast is Starlink's internet service?
"Users can expect data speeds of 50 to 150 megabits per second and latency to vary from 20 to 40 milliseconds over the next several months," says Starlink's website. "As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speeds, latency and uptime will improve dramatically."
To that end, Musk tweeted in February last year that he expects the service to double its top speed to 300 Mbps by the end of 2021. Now, in 2022, such claims are difficult to evaluate, as the speed will vary depending on time and location.
Last year, CNET's John Kim signed up for the service at his home in California and recently began testing it in various locations. At home, their average download speed was around 78Mbps and latency was around 36ms. You can see more about his first impressions in the video posted above or by clicking here
Where is Starlink available?
Despite promising to cover the entire world in coverage this fall, Starlink service is currently limited to select regions in select countries. Nevertheless, as more satellites join the constellation, the coverage map will increase significantly.
Per Musk, the list of countries currently serviced by a growing network of low-Earth orbit satellites includes the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand. zeeland. Starlink's pre-order agreement also includes the option to request the service in other countries, including Italy, Poland, Spain and Chile.
Why satellites, anyway? Isn't fiber faster?
Fiber, or the Internet, delivered via a fiber-optic cable laid on the ground, provides upload and download speeds that are actually much faster than satellite Internet — but, as companies like Google will tell you, fiber is the way to go. There is nothing fast about deploying the necessary infrastructure to reach people's homes. That doesn't mean there's anything simple about shooting satellites into space, but with fewer sharp-elbow competitors - and with far less red tape - there's every reason to believe that services like Starlink will reach far less fiber. Long before there ever would be communities. A recent FCC filing also suggests that Starlink may eventually double as a dedicated phone service as well. Starlink promises to improve on current expectations for satellite connections by placing satellites into orbit at a lower altitude than previously thought – 60 times closer to Earth's surface than conventional satellites. , as per the claims of the company. This low-Earth orbit approach means that there is less distance for those Starlink signals to travel – and thus, lower latency. Once we've been able to test the Starlink network for ourselves, we'll let you know how those claims stack up.
Are there other issues with Starlink's satellites?
There is much concern about the proliferation of privately owned satellites in space, and controversy in astronomical circles about the effect low-orbit satellites have on the night sky itself.
In 2019, shortly after the deployment of Starlink's first broadband satellites, the International Astronomical Union issued an alarm-sounding statement, warning of the unforeseen consequences of stargazing and the protection of nocturnal wildlife.
"We do not yet understand the impact of these thousands of visible satellites scattered across the night sky and, despite their good intentions, these satellites could threaten both constellations," the statement said.
Since then, Starlink has begun testing a number of new designs aimed at reducing the brightness and visibility of its satellites. In early 2020, the company tested a "DarkSat" satellite that contained a special, non-reflective coating. Later, in June of 2020, the company launched a "VisorSat" satellite with a special sunshade visor. In August, Starlink launched another batch of satellites -- this time, they were all equipped with visors.
The company's website reads, "Starlink teams have worked closely with leading astronomers from around the world to better understand the specifics of their observations and engineering changes we can make to reduce satellite glare. "
NASA’s concern about SpaceX's new generation of Starlink satellites
NASA has raised concerns over Musk's SpaceX plan to deploy thousands of satellites for its Starlink program.
Musk's space company had received authorization for 12,000 satellites to offer Internet broadband services, however, NASA said that it saw a "significant increase in the frequency of conjunction events and the potential impacts of NASA's science and human spaceflight missions." increased the possibility."
Starlink is a division of SpaceX owned and operated by Musk and operates independently of US military and civilian use privately. However, it works closely with NASA to incorporate its projects in space.
SpaceX intends to deploy about 30,000 satellites for its Starlink Internet broadband link for worldwide access. The space agency had informed on Wednesday that 40 Starlink satellites were knocked down due to a geomagnetic storm.
However, it said there was little danger as it burned up in the atmosphere.
The company said that at least 40 satellites "will re-enter or have already re-entered Earth's atmosphere". NASA, however, said the SpaceX Gen 2 project means it will now increase "five-fold" the number of objects being tracked in orbit to doubling the number of objects below 600 km from the current 6,100.
The US space agency insisted that the large number of satellites interfered with astronomical observations. Musk recently tweeted that SpaceX has 1,469 active Starlink satellites and will soon put another 272 into orbit, while "laser links will be activated soon".
Musk-backed Starlink to refund pre-orders in India after govt order
Starlink has already received over 5,000 pre-orders for its devices in India but is struggling to receive commercial licences without which it cannot offer services in the country.Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet venture told its members that the Indian government had asked the company to refund all its pre-orders until it receives licences to operate in the country.
more on India’s controversy with Starlink in part 2
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