Out of pandemic and aim for the stars. This seems to be the motto of Elon Musk owned SpaceX. The tech company is desperate to achieve feat only in the domain of fiction. After sending astronauts to International Space Station for NASA, This time, SpaceX is developing a low latency, broadband internet system for consumers all across the globe.
Starlink and the Internet Story
Starlink is a SpaceX-led program that aims to provide internet access by using satellites. It plans to build a constellation of artificial satellites to enable access. As per plans these constellations would consist of thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Recently, SpaceX revealed that Starlink broadband has managed to get over 500,000 pre-orders. The Musk-backed company launched its pre-orders service earlier this year for a $99 refundable deposit.
SpaceX on Tuesday launched a cluster of 60 Starlink satellites. To do this SpaceX used one of its Falcon 9 rockets. With its 10 th launch of 2021 the company claimed to connect more people at a time. According to Musk Starlink will be “probably out of beta this summer.”
More Challenges in Way Ahead
Elon Musk has revealed that these satellites face a major challenge while catering to dense user bases in big cities. Nevertheless, he plans to make Starlink mobile at the end of this year. He acknowledges the fact that more satellites and software upgrades would be necessary get the system fully operational. If all goes as plan Musk claims Starlink will give up to 300 Mbps speed in the future.
Keeping in mind its shortcomings, there is no definite date for Starlink’s service launch. The company plans to eventually deploy 12,000 satellites in total. According to estimates, it is claimed that the Starlink constellation will cost SpaceX $10 billion.
Governments all over the world are skeptical about the plan. In one instance US Federal Communications Commission only approved SpaceX’s plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned after the company accepted a number of terms to ensure the plan’s safety.
SpaceX faces tough competition from Jeff Bezos-controlled Kuiper systems. SpaceX accepts that their satellites may encounter interference from satellites deployed under Amazon’s Kuiper Systems satellite project.
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