Starlink | World's most advanced broadband internet system

THE EVOLUTION OF STAR LINK

A South African-born American entrepreneur who co-founded the electronic-payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft and belongs to one of the most influential people in the world is the innovator Elon Musk. His great mind comes with the idea to provide low-cost internet to remote locations. SpaceX is leveraging its experience in building rockets and spacecraft to deploy the world’s most advanced broadband internet system.

Elon Musk announced the Starlink concept (though not the name) back in January 2015, explaining that the company intended to launch about 4,000 broadband satellites to low Earth orbit to provide low-cost internet service to people around the world. SpaceX trademarked the name Starlink for their satellite broadband network in 2017; the name was inspired by the book The Fault in Our Stars.

SpaceX opened its satellite development facility in Redmond in January 2015 to develop and build out the new communication network. In August 2018, SpaceX consolidated all their Seattle area operations with a move to a larger three-building facility at Redmond Ridge Corporate Center to support satellite manufacturing in addition to R&D. In May 2018, SpaceX expected the total cost of development and build-out of the constellation to approach US$10 billion.

According to early public releases of information in 2015, the satellites were expected to be in the smallsat-class of 100-to-500 kg and intended to be in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of approximately 1,100 Kilometers. SpaceX launched the first 60 satellites of the constellation in May 2019 into a 450 km orbit and expected up to six launches in 2019 at that time, with 720 satellites (12 × 60) for continuous coverage in 2020.

THE CRITICISM

There are always positive and negative. Let’s talk about our title Harvard astronomer says ‘Starlink could affect hunt for near earth asteroids. Ground-based observatories are used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. These observatories scan the sky for asteroids and other events. They keep track of space and look for hazardous asteroids. Due to SpaceX’s plan to deploy over 12,000 satellites to low Earth orbit. Astronomers claim that the number of visible satellites will outnumber visible stars and that their brightness in both optical and radio wavelengths will severely impact scientific observations. Regular skywatchers and professional astronomers were astonished by the bright light trains in twilight skies and the fields of view of major telescopes. Not only SpaceX but also competitor like One Web poses a huge problem for astronomer. The main concern is the space debris that results from placing thousands of satellites in space. Space junk can be a hazard to active satellites and spacecraft. It has been theorized that Earth’s orbit could even become impassable if the risk of collision grows too high.

SpaceX representatives and Musk have claimed that the satellites will have minimal impact. Musk stated that SpaceX will work on reducing the reflection of the satellites and will provide on-demand orientation adjustments for astronomical experiments, if necessary. Now let’s come to our major concern-The space debris. These satellites at the end of their life will utilize their onboard propulsion system to deorbit over a few months. If the system becomes inoperable then within 1-5 years these satellites will burn up in the earth’s atmosphere, significantly less than the hundreds or thousands of years required at higher altitudes. Whenever something is done; there will always be consequences. So Elon Musk and his teams are working to solve these consequences. His goals include reducing global warming through sustainable energy production and consumption and reducing the risk of human extinction by establishing a human colony on Mars.

CONCLUSION

“The important thing is never stop questioning” -Albert Einstein. Let us ask questions and try to find solutions. Support the good ones that help humanity. Starlink will give us the fastest internet ever. Many companies are implementing different types of projects for the development of mankind. Implementing this, the main concern is that it should not affect the earth. So let us keep developing our technologies by solving the consequences.