StarLink: Future of the Internet
The Global Pandemic has taught us moving online is the most reliable way to sustain and to be safe. One of the biggest problems faced is connectivity to rural and isolated areas which leads to a lack of awareness and understanding of the situation out there. The students from these locations are not able to blend with the drift of online learning programs. There is an immense necessity for an internet service to stretch out to every home all around the globe.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is a project of SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer, and space transportation services company founded by Elon Musk. Starlink is a constellation of small-sized satellites having application in providing internet services. The project started in 2015, while on 22nd February 2018 the first two prototype test-flight satellites launched. Currently, there are 422 Starlink satellites deployed in space. This quantity of satellites is capable of handling minor internet service coverage. In the initial beta testing called Global lightning, a partnership between Starlink and US Air Force the download speeds of 610 Mbps was observed. In early 2018 Global Lightning used initial two prototype satellites to transfer data to terminals inside a C-12 transport plane while on the flight.
What are the technologies behind StarLink?
The StarLink satellites have the size of an office desk and weigh nearly 227 kilograms. These satellites are deployed in Lower Earth Orbits (LEO). The satellites placed in the orbit are close to earth at an elevation of 550 kilometres. The satellites can communicate among them by using optical inter-satellite links and phased array beam technologies. Smaller and compact satellites make it cost-effective and convenient to deploy in orbit.
All the satellites can be stacked collectively and can be installed into orbit one by one. Each satellite is docked with 4 powerful and efficient phased array antennas. It survives on the power generated by a single solar array. The solar cells used are standardized and effortless to integrate into the manufacturing process. Starlink satellites are the first-ever flown satellites to be equipped with krypton hall thrusters based on hall-effect using krypton as reaction mass for propulsion. This empowers Starlink satellites to orbit raise, manoeuvre in space, and to deorbit at the end. The satellites are equipped with custom-built in-house navigation sensors. These sensors inform the system about its altitude which enables in precise placement of broadband throughput. The Department of Defense’s inputs to the Starlink satellites are processed by the debris tracking system to autonomously perform manoeuvres using ion thrusters to prevent collisions with debris or other objects and spacecraft. Autonomous collision avoidance system enables to identify the potential hits and avoid them without any involvement of humans.
How it is better?
1)Reachability
SpaceX and Elon Musk hope that StarLink’s novel technology will aid in fulfilling the connectivity gap between urban and rural areas. The remote areas are outliving because of massive infrastructural investment. It involves the expense of digging trenches, laying fibre or cable, and also handling property right disputes. The better way is to reach through a satellite network as it demands fewer infrastructural expenses.
2) Latency
Latency is the time taken for the internet signal to travel from the source computer to the ISP, then to the website server, and then back to source computer. The traditional satellite internet networks It means the signal has to travel the satellite, then back down to the website server, back up to the satellite, and back to you. It has a theoretical latency of 477 milliseconds(ms) as the satellites are placed in geostationary orbits having altitude higher than 35,786 kilometres but the practically observed latency is typically between 500ms to 600ms but in case of Starlink which reduces the latency to just about 25ms to 35ms as it is 550km above the earth’s surface.
3) Speed
As the satellites are equipped with laser technology and also placed in space hence, they can beam data across the globe at the speed of light-a speed that only fiber-optic internet comes close to matching.
4) Cost
The cost of the ground terminals will be $100-$300 as said by Elon Musk in his speech back in 2015. The cost of subscription can be predicted monthly to be $80 according to the comment of the SpaceX president during a CNN interview: “Is anybody paying less than 80 bucks a month for crappy service? Nope. That’s why we’re gonna be successful.”
How to access the internet?
Accessibility of the satellite internet connection cannot be done directly with the laptop or any other device. A Ground terminal is required to connect with StarLink. Elon Musk described the ground terminal as “looks like a thin, flat, round UFO on a stick.” on 7th Jan 2020 through his tweet. The size would be equivalent to small to medium-sized pizza. He also mentioned that the terminal has motors to self-adjust to the optimal angle. The instructions to be followed are to just plug-in the socket and point at the sky.
What about the debris?
Scientific, remote-sensing and telecom satellites, as well as the International Space Station (ISS), have already occupied lots of space in the lower Earth orbit region. An enormous increase in the count of satellites would emphasize the threat of space impacts. Low Earth Orbit’s and near-space environment would become unusable eventually. On September 2, 2019, the first incident took place when the European Space Agency was compelled to move aside one of its Earth observation satellites to avoid a strike after Starlink refused to alter the route of its satellite. Elon Musk states that all the satellites be equipped by thrusters to deorbit and make them fall back on Earth when they reach the end of their active life, but that doesn’t mitigate the risk while they’re operational. Since the first launch, six satellites have already died.
Future opportunities?
In pandemics like the COVID-19 where life is entirely online and a high-speed internet connection becomes crucial like food and water. This unique technology can revolutionize classical internet services and has the potential to replace them all. The indigenous COVID patient tracker app “Arogyasetu” wasn’t successful because the internet backbone in the country isn’t too strong. Maximum of the population depends upon the cellular internet providers. The Internet creates a link between authorities and common people to communicate effectively and to pass on the information without any distortion.
The long-term goal of SpaceX is to create a human settlement on Mars. The ISP project “Starlink” was not the domain of SpaceX, but the organisation is proceeding with it because it generates lots of income essential for research activities for their goal. Also, Starlink’s satellite technology can be used in future for inter-planetary communication between Earth and Mars. Currently, the Starlink is under organisational testing and very soon it will be open for beta testing for the public in America and Canada. SpaceX has filed requests to seek permission for launching 30,000 additional Starlink satellites to International Telecommunication Union on top of the 12,000 already approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
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