THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET
In 2019, Spacex launched 60 satellites. They are set to become part of a constellation of more than 12,000. Known as Starlink, the project aims to bring high-speed internet to every corner of the planet. As it stands, fast internet access is only available in places with fibre-optic cables. In remote locations, communications satellites provide links to the internet, but the connections are notoriously slow. These satellites traditionally fly high above Earth. They sit in geostationary orbit, moving at the same speed as Earth’s rotation. They have a wide view of Earth’s surface and always hover over the same point on the ground. This makes it easy for satellite dishes to find them. The downside is that getting data to them takes time.
Spacex wants to change that by surrounding Earth in a cage of low-orbiting satellites. Individually, they won’t see as much of Earth’s surface, and they won’t always hover above the same spot, so there will need to be thousands of them to ensure complete coverage of the globe. But because they fly low, it will cut the time it takes for a signal to travel from the ground to space and back again.
Achieving this is no mean feat. The closer a satellite is to Earth, the more drag it will experience from the edges of the atmosphere. To get around this, Spacex has designed the satellites to look like sharks, with a knife-like edge that cuts through the wind. Each one weighs just 250 kilograms and works a bit like a router. Its job is simply to receive signals, work out where they’re going and pass them on. On the ground, users will have special dishes that lock on to whichever satellite is closest. But the project is not without controversy.
Each satellite has a solar array that sticks out like a wing. At sunrise and sunset, these catch the light, making them glint like shooting stars. As the constellation moves overhead, it leaves streaks on telescope images, obscuring the stars and planets behind. Spacex has been working with astronomers to minimise the impact by shading and tilting the satellites to reduce the light reflected back towards Earth.
The satellites also pose a potential threat to other orbiting objects. They’re already responsible for over half of the close encounters in Earth’s orbit, and that proportion is only set to rise. In December 2021, the Chinese government lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations after two near misses with the Chinese Space Station Tiangong. And with at least 11 other companies already entering the satellite constellation race, space is likely to get more complicated and more crowded in years to come.
wants “Spacex to surround Earth in a cage of satellites”