Night sky lights: you Musk not fear, aliens aren’t near
Many George residents have turned to Facebook asking about the string of lights crossing our skies on Sunday night, 28 August. These are not aliens, but one of Elon Musk’s latest endeavours.
Known as Starlink, the string of satellites is an internet satellite constellation operated by Musk’s company SpaceX.
The first was launched in 2019 and the latest launch was in March this year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The satellites move at an unbelievable speed of 500km per minute.
SpaceX provides satellite internet access coverage to 39 countries. It also aims for global coverage with personal communications satellite service after 2023.
According to Starlink’s coverage map, the service will go live in Nigeria in the third quarter of this year, while Mozambique will get coverage in the fourth quarter. The rest of the continent’s countries, including South Africa, still show “starting in 2023” as their estimated live dates for the service.
SpaceX is an American spacecraft manufacturer, space launch provider, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Musk, with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonisation of Mars. It manufactures the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, several rocket engines, Cargo Dragon, crew spacecraft, and Starlink communication satellites.
In January 2020, the Starlink constellation became the largest satellite constellation ever launched, and as of July this year comprises over 3 000 small satellites orbiting earth.