Tag: Starlink

Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy

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Starlink is the name of a satellite network developed by the private spaceflight company SpaceX to provide low-cost internet to remote locations. 

A Starlink satellite has a lifespan of approximately five years and SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in this so-called megaconstellation.

The current V2 Starlink satellite version weighs approximately 1,760 lbs  (800 kilograms) at launch, almost three times heavier than the older generation satellites (weighing in at 573 lbs or 260 kg), according to Spaceflight Now. 

Related: Wild solar weather is causing satellites to plummet from orbit 

How many Starlink satellites are there?

The size and scale of the Starlink project concerns astronomers, who fear that the bright, orbiting objects will interfere with observations of the universe, as well as spaceflight safety experts who now see Starlink as the number one source of collision hazard in Earth’s orbit. In addition to that, some scientists worry that the amount of metal that will be burning up in Earth’s atmosphere as old satellites are deorbited could trigger unpredictable changes to the planet’s climate. 

Starlink satellite tracker

Long-exposure image showing a train of Starlink satellites passing over Uruguay on February 7, 2021.  (Image credit: MARIANA SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Starlink satellites orbit approximately 342 miles (550 kilometers) above Earth and put on a spectacular show for observers as they move across the sky. This show is not welcomed by all and can significantly hinder both optical and radio astronomical observations. 

You don’t need any special equipment to see Starlink satellites as they are visible to the unaided eye. The satellites can appear as a string of pearls or a “train” of bright lights moving across the night sky. Starlink satellites are easier to see a day or two after their launch and deployment then become progressively harder to spot as they climb to their final orbital height of around 342 miles (550 km). 

Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky

Our list of the best stargazing apps may help you with your Starlink viewing planning. If you want to see where all of the Starlink satellites are located in real-time check out this Starlink map showing the global coverage of each Starlink satellite as well as information on how many are currently in service, inactive or have burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. 

Related: How to photograph Starlink satellites guide.

Starlink coverage

To see current Starlink internet availability around the world, and if it’s available where you are, Starlink has an interactive map detailing locations where Starlink internet is available, which areas are on the waitlist as well as areas that are “coming soon”. 

“Starlink is ideally suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable,” the Starlink main page states. “People across the globe are

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Cyclone Gabrielle: Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite world-wide-web network to the rescue for storm-struck areas

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The complete journey of Cyclone Gabrielle from development in close proximity to Queensland, Australia to extratropical cyclone close to New Zealand. Online video / Zoom_Earth

By Ben Moore, BusinessDesk

Amid the fibre and mobile community outages unfold across the North Island, people of Starlink are reporting that their connections remained secure – as extensive as their ability and components held

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Starlink Presents Internet Access in Periods of Disaster, but Is It Just a PR Stunt?

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The undersea cable connecting Tonga to the international Internet and cell phone methods was eventually restored in late February. The archipelagic nation’s accessibility had been lower off since January 15, when the mostly submerged Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai volcano unleashed a gargantuan blast and tsunami. Strong underwater currents, probably triggered by the volcano’s partial collapse, seriously destroyed a 50-mile stretch of the 510-mile-very long undersea cable that joined Tonga to the rest of the world.

Elements of the govt-owned cable were reduce into parts, whilst other sections were blasted several miles absent or buried in silt. This left most of Tonga’s 105,000 residents isolated (apart from a handful of satellite-joined gadgets named “Chatty Beetles” that could transmit text-dependent alerts and messages). When it became very clear this would past a lot more than a thirty day period, a controversial determine stepped in: In late January Elon Musk, billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, tweeted, “Could people today from Tonga permit us know if it is essential for SpaceX to ship above Starlink terminals?” Musk’s give of this satellite Web connectivity tools appeared to be perfectly-received by Tongans reeling from the disaster. Almost immediately, the corporation flew a workforce of its engineers to the remote Pacific islands.

At a look, giving the stricken country with one more way to obtain the Web in the for a longer time term—aside from a susceptible undersea cable—seems like a valuable advancement. And it is not the only event when Starlink has provided its provider in the wake of disaster or disruption. In 2020 the company also despatched Washington State 7 terminals, tiny dish antennas that connect with Starlink satellites in orbit, to use for the duration of wildfire time for free of charge. This gave besieged inhabitants and unexpected emergency responders important Internet entry, suggests Steven Friederich, a community info officer at the Washington Military Section. And on February 26 Musk mentioned on Twitter that Starlink assistance is now lively in war-torn Ukraine. (Distinct particulars about the company’s do the job in the region keep on being somewhat scarce, but Starlink terminals have been sent to the country, and civilians on the floor are reporting that the Online assistance is operational.)

Like SpaceX’s other interventions, the provide of Starlink expert services to postdisaster Tonga absolutely has an altruistic element to it. But as other protection has observed, offering Starlink Net accessibility to Ukraine is not as uncomplicated as it looks, and performing so will not finish the country’s connectivity difficulties in the middle of a combat for its survival. For distinctive factors, SpaceX’s present to Tonga is also not without problems. Including a further way to access the Net in the celebration of a long term catastrophe is certainly welcome. But the conclusion also rewards the business by aiding it shift into a new (and vulnerable) market place, all when offering Starlink—whose very reflective satellites have angered a lot of astronomers, amid others—a first rate general public relations improve.

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Elon Musk sent Starlink satellite Internet assistance to Ukraine. It would seem to be helping.

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When war broke out in Ukraine, the country confronted threats of Russian cyberattacks and shelling that had the opportunity to take down the Online, producing it vital to acquire a backup prepare. So the country’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted a immediate plea to Musk urging him to mail assist. Musk replied just hrs afterwards: “Starlink assistance is now lively in Ukraine. Additional terminals en route.”

Ukraine has now obtained countless numbers of antennas from Musk’s companies and European allies, which has proved “very successful,” Fedorov mentioned in an interview with The Washington Submit on Friday.

“The quality of the website link is excellent,” Fedorov reported by means of a translator, working with a Starlink connection from an undisclosed site. “We are applying 1000’s, in the place of 1000’s, of terminals with new shipments arriving each and every other day.”

The use of Starlink as a stopgap measure for citizens and the governing administration to stay connected during an invasion is a significant test of the fairly new technology, industry experts say, and could have popular implications for the foreseeable future of war. World wide web has turn into an critical tool for interaction, staying educated and even powering weapons.

It is also a exam for Musk. The world’s richest male, valued at $232 billion in accordance to the Bloomberg Billionaire‘s Index, makes a routine of turning to Twitter for brash promises and proclamations in the midst of environment crises. Currently this week, the Tesla CEO has challenged Putin to a fight and followed up by pledging he would use just a single hand if Putin was frightened. And he explained to Putin he could provide a bear.

But this time, Fedorov and some authorities say he’s appear by means of. Tesla staff members in Europe reportedly assembled programs to assist power Starlink in Ukraine, and Fedorov mentioned other European countries have sent Starlink tools from their have materials.

Musk responded to a request for comment on his endeavours with Starlink and past efforts, telling The Put up to give his regards “to your puppet learn Besos??.” (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post.) Musk did not answer to a abide by-up ask for specially on his work with Starlink in Ukraine.

SpaceX declined to comment on its work in Ukraine.

World wide web disruptions can be prompted by ability outages or by fiber optic cables becoming lower as a result of shelling, professionals said. The Starlink technology is currently being utilised by civilians in spots beneath assault that have shed Online assistance, and by government officers. Starlink terminals have also been provided to help the country’s tech businesses continue to be on-line when the war has pressured them to relocate. The Moments of London reviews that a Ukrainian device is employing Starlink to link its drones attacking Russian forces.

Starlink has grown speedily in current yrs, surpassing some satellite World wide web

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Elon Musk claims SpaceX’s Starlink satellite net service is lively in Ukraine with much more terminals on the way

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated his house firm’s Starlink satellite internet company is out there in Ukraine and additional terminals to use it are on the way. 

Musk built the statement on Twitter Saturday (Feb. 26) soon after remaining requested by a Ukrainian govt formal if SpaceX could present a lot more Starlink providers to the region just after Russian troops invaded Ukraine last week. Internet solutions in Ukraine has viewed “significant disruptions” in the money city of Kyiv and across a great deal of the nation because of to Russian navy functions and the ensuing battling, the monitoring group Netblocks claimed on Thursday (Feb. 24). 

“@ElonMusk, when you try out to colonize Mars — Russia try out to occupy Ukraine! Although your rockets successfully land from house — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil individuals! We talk to you to give Ukraine with Starlink stations and to handle sane Russians to stand,” Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also the country’s minister of digital transformation, requested Musk on Twitter Saturday. 

“Starlink assistance is now lively in Ukraine,” Musk replied. “Far more terminals en route.”

Linked: SpaceX’s Starlink satellite megaconstellation launches in photos

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SpaceX’s Starlink support presents high-velocity broadband entry by means of a enormous constellation of satellites in reduced Earth orbit and is made to eventually present coverage anywhere on Earth, with a concentration on remote locations or underserved areas. Starlink consumers entry the area-based net provider making use of a satellite dish put on or around the spot exactly where assistance is needed.

Musk and SpaceX not too long ago sent 50 Starlink terminals to the island country of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean to present free web accessibility to help reconnect remote villages there right after a substantial volcano eruption and tsunami in January, according to Reuters. The Starlink terminals will support restore communications with some of the most difficult strike regions from the pure disaster.

Because 2019, SpaceX has introduced about 2,000 of the satellites for the constellation, which is predicted to access up to 14,000 in its initial kind. The firm’s most modern launch occurred on Friday (Feb. 25), when SpaceX lofted 50 new Starlink satellites into orbit from a pad at California’s Vandenberg House Power Foundation.

SpaceX’s future Starlink mission is envisioned to carry off afterwards this week on Thursday (March 3) from Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Room Middle in Florida.

E mail Tariq Malik at [email protected] or stick to him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram. 

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Elon Musk claims SpaceX Starlink satellite net provider in Ukraine is activated

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SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk declared Saturday that he had activated Starlink world wide web service in Ukraine as the place experienced electric power outages and gaps in world wide web provider owing to Russia’s invasion. Musk also promised at the time that extra have been “en route.”
The support from SpaceX arrived immediately after Ukraine’s vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also Ukraine’s minister of electronic transformation, tweeted a plea to Musk about the weekend: “whilst you check out to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! Whilst your rockets properly land from house — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil persons! We ask you to offer Ukraine with Starlink stations and to deal with sane Russians to stand.”

Fedorov shared a photo of the Starlink terminals as they arrived in Ukraine and tweeted his thanks to Musk.

“You are most welcome,” the SpaceX CEO replied.
Starlink is a satellite-based mostly net constellation meant to blanket the world in higher-velocity broadband and could possibly carry connectivity to billions of people today who still deficiency reputable net accessibility. Satellite-dependent net has lengthy presented a important backstop to land-based internet service, as it can continue being active even when infrastructure on the ground is ravaged by war or natural disasters. It can also attain areas where ground-based infrastructure has still to be mounted. Nonetheless, satellite world wide web historically had a popularity for spotty and slow connections.

Starlink, nevertheless, helps make use of satellites that function in lower-Earth orbit — around 340 miles large, in SpaceX’s scenario — to deliver continual protection, enabling for a lot more rapidly upload and download speeds. Starlink, which SpaceX has labored to promptly deploy more than the past couple of decades, experienced about 145,000 people in 25 nations around the world as of January.

SpaceX has currently released about 2,000 Starlink satellites and aims to launch hundreds more to proceed blanketing the planet in net connectivity.

The Twitter trade in between Musk and Fedorov took put as Russian President Vladimir Putin purchased his country’s deterrence forces, which incorporates nuclear arms, to be placed on superior alert. Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin claimed talks among Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take location Monday early morning.

There have been “intermittent” electric power outages in Ukraine, but the net is continue to “frequently available,” a senior US protection official advised reporters Saturday.

The Starlink method was lately utilized in Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean, to give world wide web company to hook up distant villages next the eruption of an underwater volcano in January, in accordance to SpaceX. The eruption was very likely the greatest recorded wherever on the earth in much more than 30 a long time, CNN reported.

CNN’s Ellie Kaufman and Helen Regan contributed to this report.

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