Elon Musk has been Launching Thousands of Satellites, What can be the Reason to his Starlink Launch?
Elon Musk's company, SpaceX has been continuously launching thousands of satellites into the orbit. Most of the people have mentioned that they had witnessed those satellites in the skies.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Elon Musk’s Starlink project aims to provide high speed internet to remote areas
- Starlink has 400,000 subscribers within the 36 countries
- The satellites in the low-Earth are causing many problems for the astronomers
They have been a part of the Starlink project that eventually aims to provide high speed internet services from space, to the remote areas on Earth.
Starlink have been providing internet services via a huge network of satellites. Basically, it had aimed towards those people who live in remote areas and could not get high-speed internet. Starlink's satellites have been placed in the low-level orbit around the Earth in order to make connection speeds between the satellites and also the ground as quick as possible.
Chris Hall, the editorial director of the technology website Pocket Lint had mentioned that since 2018, Starlink has placed some 3,000 of its satellites into space. Within few years it would eventually use 10,000 or 12,000.
According to him, 'Using satellites had solved the matter of obtaining internet connections to remote locations in deserts and mountains.' He even added that 'It bypasses the requirement to build large amounts of infrastructure, like cables and masts, in order to achieve those areas.'
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Well, compared to standard internet providers, Starlink does not come under the low-cost category. It actually charges customers $99 per month and along with this the dish and router required to attach to the satellites costs around $549.
Therefore, the company had mentioned that it has 400,000 subscribers within the 36 countries it currently covers the areas largely in North America, Europe and Australasia. This has been made up of both households and businesses. By next year, Starlink has planned to increase its coverage more across Africa and South America, and into Asian regions of the globe wherever internet coverage is more patchy as compared to others.
As per Chris Hall, 'Starlink cost would be too high for many households in Africa.” He added that “However, it might play a crucial role in connecting schools and hospitals in remote areas there.'
For astronomers, Starlink's satellites have been making issues just like other satellites which were placed at the low-Earth orbits. As during the time of sunrise and sunset, they would be witnessed by the naked eyes itself because the sun glints off their wings. Therefore, it would eventually cause streaks on telescope images in future by obscuring the view of stars and planets.
As per Professor Mosteshar, 'Astronomers could notice the issues early.' The Professor even added to the statement that 'They were the first to complain about it as they were the first to notice them.'
Also Read: Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network has been hit by a geomagnetic storm