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47549 |
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Date: July 29, 2023 at 00:26:55
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites? |
URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62339835 |
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Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of
satellites?
Elon Musk's SpaceX company has been launching thousands
of satellites into orbit. Many people say they've seen
them in the skies.
They're part of the Starlink project, which aims to
provide high speed internet services from space, to
remote areas on Earth.
What is Starlink and how does it work?
Starlink provides internet services via a huge network
of satellites.
It is aimed at people who live in remote areas who
cannot get high-speed internet.
"There are people in the UK in that category, but more
across the world, in places like Africa," says Dr
Lucinda King, Space Projects Manager at the University
of Portsmouth.
Starlink's satellites have been put in low-level orbit
around the Earth to make connection speeds between the
satellites and the ground as fast as possible.
However, a great many low-level satellites are needed
to provide full coverage of the globe.
It's thought Starlink has put some 3,000 of them into
space since 2018. It may eventually use 10,000 or
12,000, says Chris Hall, editorial director of the
technology website Pocket Lint.
"Using satellites solves the problem of getting
internet connections to remote locations in deserts and
mountains," he says.
"It bypasses the need to build massive amounts of
infrastructure, like cables and masts, to reach those
areas."
How much does Starlink cost and who will use it?
Compared to standard internet providers, Starlink isn't
cheap.
It charges customers $99 per month (£89 per month in
the UK). The dish and router needed to connect to the
satellites costs $549 (£529 in the UK).
However, 96% of households in the UK already have
access to high-speed internet, as do 90% of households
in the EU and the US.
"Most of the developed world is already well
connected," says Professor Sa'id Mosteshar of London
University's Institute of Space Policy and Law.
"They're relying on a small share of the market for
revenues."
The company says it has 400,000 subscribers in the 36
countries it currently covers - mostly in North
America, Europe and Australasia. This is made up of
both households and businesses.
Next year, Starlink plans to extend its coverage
further across Africa and South America, and into Asia
- regions of the world where internet coverage is more
patchy.
"Starlink's prices may be too high for many households
in Africa, say," says Chris Hall. "But it could play an
important role in connecting schools and hospitals in
remote areas there."
How is Starlink helping in Ukraine?
As Russian forces have advanced in Ukraine they have
closed down Ukrainian internet services and tried to
block social media.
Elon Musk made Starlink available in Ukraine
immediately after the invasion started. About 15,000 of
Starlink's sets of dishes and routers have been shipped
to the country.
"Starlink has kept things going, like public services
and government," says Chris Hall. "The Russians haven't
found a way of disabling it."
It has also been used on the battlefield.
"Ukrainian forces are using it to communicate - for
example, between headquarters and troops in the field,"
says Dr Marina Miron, defence studies researcher at
Kings College London.
"Its signals cannot be jammed like ordinary radio
signals can be, and it takes only 15 minutes to set up
the kit."
Is Starlink creating space clutter?
Starlink is not the only internet provider with
satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Amazon is planning to put thousands of its Kuiper
satellites into LEO, and Oneweb is also putting
satellites there.
Putting satellites into low-Earth orbit could lead to
problems, says Sa'id Mosteshar.
"Satellites could hit other vessels and create
fragments of wreckage and these, in turn, could cause a
lot more damage when flying at high speeds."
There have recently been a number of near misses
involving Starlink satellites, including near misses
with China's space station.
"If there are too many fragments, it could make low-
Earth orbit unusable in the future," says Dr King of
Portsmouth University.
"And we may not be able to get out of low-Earth orbit
into higher orbits, where our navigational satellites
and telecoms satellites are situated."
A Starlink satelllite appears as a streak of light in
the early evening sky
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Starlink satellites often show up in photographs as
streaks of light, obscuring stars and planets
Starlink's satellites are also creating problems for
astronomers.
At sunrise and sunset, they are visible to the naked
eye because the sun glints off their wings.
This can cause streaks on telescope images, obscuring
the view of stars and planets.
Starlink says it is trying to reduce the brightness of
its satellites in the sky.
Related Topics
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Responses:
[47557] [47556] [47561] [47571] [47572] [47573] [47555] |
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47557 |
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Date: August 04, 2023 at 18:51:50
From: georg, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites? |
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all the evil things that are coming have to be showed to
us before they can use them ... it's a universal law or
something ... and so they use fantastic film versions of
the coming reality
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Responses:
None |
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47556 |
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Date: August 04, 2023 at 18:50:29
From: georg, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites? |
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from the link, "In the first film, it is stated that
Skynet was created by Cyberdyne Systems for SAC-NORAD.
When Skynet gained self-awareness, humans tried to
deactivate it, prompting it to retaliate with a
countervalue nuclear attack, an event which humankind in
(or from) the future refers to as Judgment Day." (note:
if we look at Biblical prophecy in terms of this
information we can see that the beasts described might
be machines)
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Responses:
[47561] [47571] [47572] [47573] |
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47561 |
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Date: August 05, 2023 at 22:25:48
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: you might look at this video posted on Science |
URL: https://youtu.be/6Nt7xLAfEPs |
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You might be interested in this documentary; I posted it
at Science forum. Regarding the "beast" being a
computerized animal/human being.
Automata: The Extraordinary "Robots" Designed Hundreds
Of Years Ago | Mechanical Marvels | Timeline
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Responses:
[47571] [47572] [47573] |
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47571 |
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Date: August 07, 2023 at 19:40:52
From: georg, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: you might look at this video posted on Science |
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yes, but they only do one thing ... the beasts I'm
thinking of would have facial recognition and the
ability to expunge any unwanted biota with one burst
from a chain gun
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Responses:
[47572] [47573] |
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47572 |
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Date: August 07, 2023 at 23:34:15
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: you might look at this video posted on Science |
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Of course, I was just mentioning it, cuz these
AI/beasts/robots were first conceived of and created in
the 1700's.
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Responses:
[47573] |
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47573 |
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Date: August 08, 2023 at 12:18:21
From: georg, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: you might look at this video posted on Science |
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and human beings just can't stop doing things that
should be avoided
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Responses:
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47555 |
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Date: August 04, 2023 at 18:47:57
From: georg, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites? |
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_(Terminator) |
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yes, the same story is in the Terminator films ...
Skynet is being launched and the A.I. beast to rule us
all
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Responses:
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