Starlink Project

Context:

Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. has pointed out that ‘Starlink Internet Services’ is not licensed to offer satellite-based internet services in India being advertised to the public.

Analysis

• Internet connectivity is expected to be made available to Indian users in 2022 through satellites that SpaceX will launch in orbit.
• Starlink notes that its satellite broadband will require a clear field of view.
• Starlink Project is reportedly looking to eventually deliver high-speed internet of up to 1 Gbps downloading or uploading speed to its users.
•  With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable
• SpaceX is developing low latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of consumers across the globe. Enabled by a constellation of low earth orbit.
• Latency is an element that contributes to network speed.
• A so-called low latency network connection is one that generally experiences small delay times, while a high latency connection generally suffers from long delays.

Starlink Project

• Starlink is a satellite-based broadband network, with the objective of eventually building a low-cost, satellite-based broadband network capable of delivering internet access to the entire globe.
• While satellite internet has been around for ages, it has generally suffered from high latency, unreliable connections, and spotty service areas.
• With Starlink Project, SpaceX intends to put a “constellation” of satellites in low earth orbit, thereby providing high-speed, cable-like internet to every corner of the planet.
• SpaceX will need to launch 4,425 satellites into orbit to achieve its desired coverage.

Low Earth orbit (LEO)

• A low Earth orbit (LEO) is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth – which is low compared to other orbits but still very far above Earth’s surface.
• By comparison, most commercial airplanes do not fly at altitudes much greater than approximately 14 km, so even the lowest LEO is more than ten times higher than that.
• Unlike satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) that must always orbit along Earth’s equator, LEO satellites do not always have to follow a particular path around Earth in the same way – their plane can be tilted.
• This means there are more available routes for satellites in LEO, which is one of the reasons why LEO is a very commonly used orbit.
• LEO’s close proximity to Earth makes it useful for several reasons.
• It is the orbit most commonly used for satellite imaging, as being near the surface allows it to take images of higher resolution.
• It is also the orbit used for the International Space Station (ISS), as it is easier for astronauts to travel to and from it at a shorter distance.
• Satellites in this orbit travel at a speed of around 7.8 km per second; at this speed, a satellite takes approximately 90 minutes to circle Earth, meaning the ISS travels around Earth about 16 times a day.
• However, individual LEO satellites are less useful for tasks such as telecommunication, because they move so fast across the sky and therefore require a lot of effort to track from ground stations.
• Instead, communications satellites in LEO often work as part of a large combination or constellation, of multiple satellites to give constant coverage.

Pros & Cons of Satellite Internet/Starlink Project

Pros

• Available nearly everywhere.
• Broadband-level speeds possible.
• Cost effective compared to mobile hotspots.
• Quick recovery post-disaster.
• You don’t need a phone line for satellite internet.
• Satellite internet connections can handle high bandwidth usage, so your internet speed/quality shouldn’t be affected by lots of users or “peak use times.”

Cons

• High latency
• Slower than cable and fiber
• Vulnerable to bad weather
• Won’t support a VPN

Other Competitors of Starlink Project

• Google may be messing around with balloons (Project Loon), but Facebook is developing a satellite in the house named “Athena” specifically to offer internet service to underdeveloped areas.

About SpaceX 

• SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.
• The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.
• SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones.
• It is the only private company capable of returning a spacecraft from low Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in 2010.
• The company made history again in 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station.
• SpaceX successfully achieved the historic first reflight of an orbital class rocket in 2017, and the company now regularly launches flight-proven rockets.
• In 2018, SpaceX began launching the world’s most powerful operational rocket by a factor of two.
• Building on the achievements of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is working on a next generation of fully reusable launch vehicles that will be the most powerful ever built, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

Source: PIB

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