Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. HongOut of a total of 8300 active satellites in July 2023, there were 4.519 Starlink satellites of the private company SpaceX in Earth's orbit, of which 4.487 are in operation. It is problematic that their owner Elon Musk is often guided by political and not only economic motives
Starlink is the name of a satellite network developed by Elon Musk's private spaceflight company SpaceX to provide low-cost internet to remote locations.
The Starlink satellite has a lifespan of approximately five years, SpaceX plans to launch as many as 42.000 satellites in this so-called megaconstellation.
The current V2 Starlink satellite version weighs about 800 kilograms at launch, almost three times the weight of the older generation satellite which weighs 260 kg.
As of July 2023, there are 4.519 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 4.487 are operational, astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who tracks the constellation, says on his website.
The size and scope of the Starlink project worries astronomers because bright objects orbiting it already interfere with observations of the universe. Spaceflight safety experts who see Starlink and its megalomaniacal plans as a source of potential collision danger in Earth orbit are also concerned.
You don't need any special equipment to see the Starlink satellites as they are visible to the naked eye. Satellites can look like a string of pearls or a "train" of bright lights moving across the night sky. Starlink satellites are easier to spot a day or two after their launch and deployment, then become increasingly difficult as they climb to their final orbital altitude of about 550 km.
To see the current availability of Starlink Internet worldwide, and if it is available where you are, Starlink has an interactive map detailing the locations where Starlink Internet is available, which areas are on the waiting list, as well as "coming soon" areas.
Starlink and the war in Ukraine
Starlink grabbed the headlines after the Russian-Ukrainian war. Just two days after the conflict, Elon Musk, CEO and founder of SpaceX, the company that operates Starlink, agreed to supply Ukraine with technology to ensure reliable internet connectivity and communications.
Just days after the Russo-Ukrainian war, Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, corresponded with Elon Musk on Twitter, requesting that the country be provided with Starlink services to ensure stable communications for civilians and the government when war broke out. out. Within twelve hours of Fedorov's complaint, Musk responded on the social media platform saying "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine."
Fedorov's request came amid widespread internet outages in the country, so the efficient response undoubtedly proved beneficial – it took only a few hours for SpaceX to activate the service, and only two days for new terminals to be delivered to Ukraine to improve and increase connectivity in the region. .
Initially, SpaceX provided service to Ukraine for little cost – a seemingly altruistic move by Musk. However, in September 2022, just over six months after Starlink was deployed in Ukraine, the company wrote a letter to the Pentagon saying it could no longer pay the bill. They demanded that the US Department of Defense take over funding for the Ukrainian government and the military's use of Starlink, which SpaceX said would cost more than $120 million through the end of 2022 alone. Continuing to operate for the next twelve months would cost nearly $400 million.
China and its version of Starlink
From China's perspective, this not only puts its friend Russia at a disadvantage, but also raises concerns for Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China. If Taiwan was given access to Starlink, it would make a Chinese invasion much more difficult.
But China's concerns go beyond that. He fears that America, through Starlink, is swallowing up territory in low Earth orbit. China also wants to be a power in this domain. And it wants the capabilities offered by systems like Starlink. So, he is working on his own version, writes the Economist.
When it comes to Taiwan, analysts believe that if China were to invade, it could start by severing the 14 undersea internet cables that keep the island connected to the world. Taiwan is adding cables and planning how to defend its landing points. But it is also testing antennas in 700 locations, including some outside Taiwan. They could send and receive signals via low-orbit satellites, such as those used by Starlink. The goal is to make the antennas "as mobile as possible" to survive an attack, says Tseng Yisuo of the National Defense and Security Research Institute, a think tank in Taiwan.
China has the ability to shoot down satellites. But Starlink consists of over 4.000 of them and eventually aims to have tens of thousands. China may have more success relying on SpaceX founder Elon Musk to deny Taiwan access to Starlink. Musk's other major company, Tesla, has a large factory in Shanghai. Last year, he proposed giving China some control over Taiwan to resolve their dispute. Spacek lists Taiwan as a place where Starlink will arrive "soon," but the company has not applied to operate there on a commercial basis.
China's low-orbit ambitions are much bigger. In 2020, the government submitted documents to the International Telecommunication Union, a unified body, for a constellation of 12.992 satellites. A year later, the government established China Satellite Networks Group Limited and charged it with the development of satellite Internet. At least seven state-owned and private Chinese companies are building satellite factories, with the expectation that they will soon be able to produce several hundred small communications satellites a year.
MJ
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