Fast Internet anywhere in the world sounds promising, right? But what is Starlink system and how does this system work?
STARLINK – WHAT IS THAT?
Starlink is a satellite system in Earth orbit developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Simply speaking, Starlink is a satellite constellation system that aims to deliver global internet coverage. With the help of these satellites, a person can access high-speed Internet from literally anywhere in the world. However, provided that he has the equipment available and paid a certain tariff.
SpaceX began work on the project began back in 2015. Three years later, they placed the first prototypes in orbit, and in 2019 they have launched a full-fledged program that included 60 working satellites. According to some reports, by the beginning of 2022, there were already more than 2 thousand satellites in the Starlink constellation, which means that the project is developing quite quickly and by 2027 SpaceX wants to place about 40 thousand of their satellites in orbit.
Of course, the presence of so many Musk satellites in orbit will make scientists start to worry. SpaceX equipment is now the brightest object in the sky, which makes it way more difficult to observe space space. However, the company promised to fix this problem before the massive expansion of its constellation.
It is also worth noting that Elon Musk was not the pioneer of the idea of the space Internet, but his project is clearly considered to be the fastest space provider. SpaceX achieved a similar effect by placing their satellites at a relatively low altitude from the Earth’s surface. What’s more, Starlink’s low altitude has another added benefit: if any satellite fails, it’s much less likely to collide with another spacecraft.
HOW DOES STARLINK WORK?
The Internet that we are used to works on wires – it is either cable technology or fiber optic. It is through these wires that the connection with the world wide web passes. Unlike them, Starlink technology uses radio signals from ground gateway stations to satellites instead of conditional wires, which send it back to Starlink user terminals on Earth. The terminal is connected to the Starlink Wi-Fi router, which is included in the kit package and provides the user with the Internet.
WHAT ARE STARLINK’S SPEEDS?
Starlink proffers unconstrained high-velocity data through an array of inconsequential satellites that distribute up to 150 Megabits per second (Mbps) of internet speed. SpaceX blueprints to double this rate in the coming months. What is more, as for now, Starlink provides its service to over 1 million active customers across 54 countries.
WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF SUCH A TECHNOLOGY?
If we are talking about the advantages of Starlink project, here are some of the most obvious ones:
- It is cheap. SpaceX are definitely using cost leadership strategy to gain their competitive advantage. It is cheaper than cable and satellite internet in suburban amd rural areas. Moreover, in many places and locations, suburban citizens pay the same amount as their city counterparts but receive far slower internet.
- Is it available everywhere worldwide. Starlink covers most of the planet, from Antarctica to the middle of the ocean. Thousands of low earth satellite orbiting above us. Its signal reaches every part of this world. Whether you are in a remote suburb, middle of the ocean, or the sky, Starlink internet is available.
- It is fast. Obviously, some users may experience slower speeds due to their network issues, but genrrslly, Starlink internet delivers 50 to 200 Mbps speeds, which is considered to be pretty fast.
- Easy to install. The Starlink technology is pretty simple to install as the company provides you with all the necessary tools and the dish doesn’t require any specialized knowledge to do so.
On the other hand, Starlink also turns out to have its drawbacks:
- It is not portable. Comparing to cellular internet all of us got used to, Starlink service isn’t portable, which means it is attached to a particular place.
- Disruption due to bad weather. However, this kind of disruption is pretty typical and common for cable internet as well.
- Starlink satellites interfere and will interfere with astronomers. The whole problem is that at dusk the satellites are very bright and make it difficult to monitor asteroids and other space objects that are potentially dangerous for our planet Earth. What is more, satellites use almost the same radio frequencies used by astronomers.
STARLINK IS A THREAT TO TOTALITARIAN REGIMES
Starlink technologies have faced a rather harsh reaction from totalitarian regimes. After all, the presence and such an active development of Musk’s satellites greatly worried China and Russia.
China: A group of Chinese scientists accused SpaceX of violating space traffic safety rules. Scientists have calculated that Starlink satellites transmitting data via laser communication are less than five kilometers apart. The authors of the study called this distance unacceptable.
Later, сhinese military researchers have called for the development of a “hard kill” weapon to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system if it threatens China’s national security. Chinese scientists have simulated the possibility of delivering a precision nuclear strike capable of destroying the satellites of the Starlink project. According to chinese scientists, for this it is necessary to detonate a 10 megaton nuclear warhead at a given height – about 80 kilometers above the Earth. The choice of this height is due to the fact that there is still air here, which will contribute to the formation of a radioactive cloud. Within a few minutes after the explosion, the cloud will rise to a height of 500 kilometers and spread over an area of about 140,000 square kilometers.
Russia: After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet terminals began to operate, which became a vital source of communication for the Ukrainian military, allowing them to fight and stay connected even when cellular and Internet networks were destroyed.Outer space has become the latest theater of war in Russia’s campaign to subjugate Ukraine, and Elon Musk’s space internet provider Starlink is now considered a legitimate military target in Moscow’s eyes.
The russian government indirectly warned Elon Musk that it would shoot down his satellites, which as Moscow says represent an “extremely dangerous trend” towards a “full-fledged arms race in space.”
COMPETITION AND MONOPOLY
Will SpaceX project Starlink destroy regular internet providers in the near future?
From my personal perspective, at the moment it is quite difficult to predict how much this technology will affect the industry. After all, whether Starlink will be able to oust the usual Internet providers from the market depends on a fairly large number of factors, such as the availability and reliability of the service, the area of its distribution, the speed of development, and so on. Which is why, how these two will interact is definitely to be seen.
To sum up everything that’s been written above, the Starlings are definitely revolutionizing the internet service industry. Whether it is worth it and whether terrestrial technologies will be able to coexist with them remains to be seen, but the price of innovation is always high. New technologies are changing the old market patterns and creating new requirements for the industry. Lemme know your opinion on this issue in the comment down below!
references:
https://www.livescience.com/china-plans-ways-destroy-starlink
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Starlink