Starlink is the name of a network of satellites, which is developed by the private spaceflight company SpaceX. Yes, the same SpaceX is on the way to send humans to the red planet in near future. The main goal for Starlink is to provide internet to remote areas on the globe and that too at a low cost. It is supposed to have around 12000 satellites in its mega constellation and this is a topic that is making sky watchers and astronomers uncomfortable. This is because so much light from a large number of satellites will interfere with the observation of the night sky.
The Initial Scheme
The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk proposed this idea in
2015 January, though it wasn’t given a name at that time. Primarily about 4000
satellites have to be placed in low earth orbit, later it was increased to
12000 and the possible extension right now is 42000 satellites in its final
constellation. This increment is done after looking into the need and
importance of internet which is increasing year after year. According to Mr.
Musk, this is a step towards his Mars colonization as well.
At present, around 2000 artificial satellites are
orbiting our earth and only about 9000 have been launched in human history.
This made it clear that the goal decided is not an easy task to be achieved.
Further in 2018, SpaceX launched two satellites named Tintin A and Tintin B. 60
more satellites were placed into lower earth orbit, these satellites can be
dragged back to earth so they don’t add up to space junk in the future when
dead.
How do Starlink satellites work?
Rather than sending internet signals through
electric cables, which must be physically laid down to reach far-flung places,
satellite here will send information through the vacuum of space, where it
travels much faster. Satellites that are used in the current time are 22,236
miles above the earth and at that distance exchange of data takes a lot of time
but being closer to earth Starlink's satellite will transfer information
rapidly and more efficiently no matter how far on the surface.
According to Musk as the number of satellites will
increase in the constellation the coverage of the internet will keep on
increasing.
Controversy on Starlink
After few days of the initial launch and initial
stages of this project, sky watchers observed a string of light as these
satellites passed over them, they called this a train of light. The light
emitted by these satellites was brighter than predicted and this surprised
everyone including SpaceX and the astronomer community all over the globe. The reason behind this was, images and observations from outer space are hard to
collect and this situation where the satellite is emitting such bright light
will affect the observations that are done by highly sensitive
telescopes.
After this controversy “The International
Astronomical Union” shown concern on this topic and SpaceX had to fix this the issue at last and all this because satellite constellation can pose a threat to
important astronomical infrastructure.
Conclusion
Starlink has estimated that the total cost of their
initial deployment will be around $10 billion. This will lead to a global
constellation of satellites that can provide services to the whole world to
every nation possible. As the internet with Starlink will be around 40 times faster
than the current speed used in most parts of the world, it will boost the
digital world.
Written By - Dewang Singh
Edited By - Anamika Malik
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