Elon Musk Starlink Satellites: An Advancement on Internet or Space Junk Nightmare

Elon Musk Starlink satellites are one of the most futuristic visions of a tech billionaire. His SpaceX company Starlink satellites provide internet services to remote areas, where internet services are unreachable or unavailable.

Space X a private spaceflight company launched multiple of these satellites into the lower earth orbit to create a mega constellation of satellites.

Elon Musk Starlink satellites are an outstanding innovation in the field of information but their expansion into space raises concern about space debris, affecting the sky observatory work of Astronomers and increasing the chances of collisions between the satellites.

Here we know all about Elon Musk Starlink satellites mega-constellations and their possible future hazardous effects on space and earth’s atmosphere.

What are Elon Musk Starlink Satellites?

Starlink satellites are developed by Elon Musk’s privately owned company Space X that provide internet at low cost to remote regions where internet facilities are unavailable.

These satellites weigh approximately 573 lbs (260 KG). It has a lifespan of approximately five years.

History of Elon Musk SpaceX Starlink Satellites

Elon Musk Space X Starlink satellites are one of the futuristic dreams, which was announced in January 2015 in Seattle. Although the name of the project was not disclosed.

CEO Elon Musk said that the company had filed documents with international regulators to place about 4,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.

“We’re really talking about something which is, in the long term, like rebuilding the internet in space,” Musk said during a speech in Seattle when revealing the project.

Elon Musk named his mega project “Starlink” after the inspiring novel “The Fault in Our Stars”.

Musk needs more satellites as he hoped to capture a part of the $1 trillion worldwide internet connectivity market to help achieve his Mars colonization vision.

This further increases the demand for the more Starlink satellites needed to fly to space. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted SpaceX permission to fly 12,000 Starlink Satellites.

SpaceX filed paperwork with an international regulator to further increases the number of 30,000 additional satellites.

Elon Musk Starlink satellites first launched in February 2018. The first two Starlink test satellites named TinTin A and TinTinB launched successfully to lower earth orbit at 340 miles (550 kilometres).

 

Check the Elon Musk’s exhilarating moment – celebrating the first successful launch of the Falcon 9 Heavy Rocket.

Elon Musk then successfully launched the first 60 Starlink satellites on May 23, 2019, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

First 60 @SpaceX Starlink satellites loaded into Falcon fairing. Tight fit. pic.twitter.com/gZq8gHg9uK

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2019

Deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed pic.twitter.com/AMLK4R9dMn

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2021

How Many Starlink Satellites Elon Musk will Launch in Space?

Elon Musk hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in this so-called mega constellation of satellites in space.

Check the Elon Musk Starlink satellites latest 11 February 2023 data on satellitemap.space

According to this data total of 3,770 satellites were launched on earth’s lower orbit about 340 miles (550 km). Only 3195 are active, 325 inactive and 251 burned.

#starlink status: 3194 in service, 3770 total ever launched, 251 re-entered, 115 ground stations. See https://t.co/Xmk6C0F4aB

— satellitemap.space (@starlink_map) February 11, 2023

How Do Elon Musk Starlink Satellites Work?

Elon Musk Starlink satellites provide internet services to remote areas. But it is always a question mark how these Starlink satellites work.

These satellites are cableless internet services. Current fiber optic cables are needed many human resources to laid down in the area.

Elon Musk SpaceX Starlink satellites internet services work by beaming information through the vacuum of space, where it travels 47% faster than in the fiber-optic cable.

The benefit of Starlink satellites is that it is closer to earth at the lower orbit. It can carry large amounts of information rapidly to any point on earth, even over the oceans and far-reach places, where normal fiber-optic cables are unable to lay down.

How to Access Elon Musk Starlink Broadband Services at Your Home

SpaceX website has a separate link to Starlink on its home page

Starlink page open with a caption –

“Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe. Within each coverage area, orders are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.”

• Go to the main page of the Starlink website and sign in
• And then click on the link “Order Now”
• Then plug in your service address

You’ll get the Starlink kit arrived at your home, which contains a small satellite dish with a mounting tripod, a wi-fi router, cables, a power supply, and a user manual.

A small satellite dish is placed on your rooftop and outside your home.

You can also download the Starlink app from the website, to help you in the installation process.

Speed of the Starlink Internet Service

Elon Musk Starlink satellite internet service download speed is 100 Mb/s and 200Mb/s but it varies according to region.

The users can expect data speeds to vary from 50 – 150 Mb/s and latency from 20-40 milliseconds in most locations.

How Much Does Elon Musk Starlink Broadband Cost?

Elon Musk Starlink’s broadband cost is not effective as it was predicted.

You have to pay the initial amount of $599 for the installation of the Starlink kit. The monthly bill charged $99 per month plus taxes and fees

The availability of Elon Musk Starlink Satellites in countries includes the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, Australia, and New Zealand.

Other countries requesting Starlink service include Italy, Poland, Spain, and Chile.

Elon Musk Starlink satellites Use in Ukraine Amid War

During the time of the Russia-Ukraine war when Russian military targeted the communication system of Ukraine.

Ukraine Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted to Musk and asked for his help.

In response to his tweet, Musk replied and informed the minister that the Starlink service is now active in Ukraine.

He also added he would soon send the required hardware, including the dishes and their associated terminals to the regions without any charges.

Also Read: Elon Musk Tweets About Peace Plan to end Ukraine – Russia War Backlashed by Zelensky

Elon Musk Starlink satellites helped Ukraine soldiers amid war, they uploaded pictures of probable Russian targets, which helped them to evaluate whether to bomb the target or not.

It also made drone warfare much easier for Ukraine.

SpaceX Curb Starlink Use In Ukraine

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell revealed in a recent interview that they are restricting the use of Starlink satellites by Ukrainian soldiers in their drone fight with Russia.

Starlink’s main purpose is to help people to maintain connectivity, ATM should work properly and aid in hospital work, etc.

“It was never intended to be weaponized,” Said SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell.

SpaceX now prevented Ukrainian soldiers from fully using the Starlink technology for war purposes. It is only for humanity’s cause not for the militia.

Why Elon Musk Starlink Satellite Internet Services not Available in India

Last year Elon Musk Starlink roll out its services in India via a local unit Starlink Satellite Communication Private Ltd.

They wanted to target 200,000 devices by December 2022.

Elon Musk Starlink had a 100 percent owned subsidiary in India and would be able to apply for a license, open bank accounts, etc.

Starlink received more than 5000 pre-orders after the announcement. But the Department of Telecommunication doesn’t have the license to offer services in India.

Elon Musk has to shut down its broadband services last year. In India now chances of rolling out the Elon Musk Starlink broadband services are not possible.

Reliance Jio under the name of Jio Space Technology Ltd. in February announced its own satellite-based internet services with a joint venture with SES – a Luxembourg-based satellite content connectivity solution provider.

Elon Musk Space X Starlink Satellites are the Main Cause of Space Junk and Collision

Elon Musk’s vision to provide internet at the low-cost turned into reality and he began sending multiple Starlink satellites to earth’s lower orbit.

The Elon Musk Starlink Satellites are collectively at the earth’s lower orbit known as mega-constellations. These mega constellations increase the amount of space debris as inactive satellites burned.

These satellites emanate lights that also obstruct the sky-gazing observations of astronomers, who search the new stars in a dark silent sky.

The chances of collisions among the satellites also increases as multiple satellites are present in the earth’s orbit.

Elon Musk Starlink Satellites Mega Constellation Impact on Astronomy

As the flood of Elon Musk Starlink satellites collects on the earth’s lower orbit, it generates fear among the community of astronomers.

The satellites when launching it actually visible in the night sky as the train of lights in the sky.

The astronomers began to get panic and they were concerned about the Starlink satellites’ bright light, which hinder the view of astronomers who are observing in the dark sky.

The images from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona show the streaks of satellites.

It also impacted the future images from highly sensitive telescope such as Vera Rubin Observatory (formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope), which will study the entire universe in exquisite detail.

Elon Musk Starlink satellite also causes light pollution in space as the increased reflection of these satellites, affected astronomers’ studies and observations.

In 2019 International Astronomical Union (IAU) expressed concerns in a statement – “Satellite constellations can pose a significant or debilitating threat to important existing and future astronomical infrastructures, and we urge their designers and deployers as well as policy-makers to work with the astronomical community in a concerted effort to analyze and understand the impact of satellite constellations.”

In April 2021, Thomas Schildknecht, a Deputy Director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern, who represents Switzerland in the IAU said at the European Space Agency’s space debris conference that the union was calling on the United Nations to protect pristine night sky as cultural heritage against the uncontrolled expansion of mega-constellations.

Fleets of Elon Musk Starlink Satellites Increases Collision Risk in Space

Elon Musk’s far future vision leads to the series of satellites launched into the lower orbit of the earth.

The mega constellation created by the Elon Musk Starlink Satellites has generated concern about the regulation of space traffic.

As space has no police or traffic rules and regulations, so private and govt. space agencies launched various satellites into space.

SpaceX has launched approximately more than 3000 satellites, which increases the risk of collision between Starlink and other satellites.

Space X faced a backlash in September 2019, when the European Space Agency (ESA) was alerted by the US military that its Aeolus satellite (Earth observation satellite) probability of colliding with Starlink-44 satellite is 1 in 1000.

European Space Agency took extra caution and measures to avoid the collisions.

The manoeuvre took place about 1/2 an orbit before the potential collision. Not long after the collision was expected, #Aeolus called home as usual to send back its science data – proving the manoeuvre was successful and a collision was indeed avoided pic.twitter.com/flYGDwFQ57

— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) September 2, 2019

In August 2021, Hugh Lewis the head of the Astronautics Research Group at the University of Southampton UK and Europe’s leading space debris expert said that “Starlink satellites represent the single main sources of collision risk in low Earth orbit.”

Lewis also said that the privately owned spaceflight company SpaceX is now the sole player in increasing space traffic and it also affects the operations of other space agencies at the lower earth orbit.

My seemingly annual reminder that reducing orbital lifetimes is not always the same as reducing collision probability.

ESA successfully unfurls sail to drag spacecraft out of orbithttps://t.co/ea5065qDKd

— Hugh Lewis (@ProfHughLewis) February 8, 2023

 

Elon Musk Starlink Satellites Increase the Space Debris

The rising Space operations are the main cause of space debris or junk, which become a global concern among Astronomers and Space Scientists.

There are no proper measures out there on how to clean out space from those dead satellites’ debris.

Elon Musk SpaceX giant launched several of the Starlink satellites in the lower earth orbit, whose lifespan is 5 years.

Also Read: These Many Satellites Elon Musk Owns

Old satellites will move into the earth’s atmosphere, where they will be burned.

The majority of the satellites that burn into earth’s pristine upper layers of the atmosphere will further increase space pollution.

The harmful chemicals that release from satellites, while burning now changing the chemistry of the earth’s atmosphere, which has a threatening consequence for life on the planet.

Canadian Researcher Aaron Boley said “the aluminum the satellites are made of will produce aluminum oxide, also known as alumina, during burn-up. He warned that alumina is known to cause ozone depletion and could also alter the atmosphere’s ability to reflect heat.”

Elon Musk Starlink satellites are expanding their horizon in the lower earth orbit and satellite burns will be going to increase the harmful particles in the atmosphere, thus leading to an increase in space pollution.

Space pollution in the future will become a serious issue just like global climate pollution, with time scientists and astronomers have to take strict measures to lower the level of space pollution to save the earth’s atmosphere.

Elon Musk Future Plan For SpaceX to Control the Space Pollution

Elon Musk is in hurry to achieve his mission of sending more than 40,000 Starlink satellites to lower earth orbit at the cost of earth’s atmosphere.

But with the raising concerns of Astronomers and NASA and ESA agencies, SpaceX is now taking some steps to prevent space pollution and collision incident with other satellites.

1. SpaceX must regulate its traffic of Starlink satellites in lower earth orbit. SpaceX first         wait for the present Starlink satellites to complete their lifespan on earth orbit and stop       the launch of new satellites, until the new modifications have been made.

2. Reduce the Reflectivity of Starlink Satellites- Space X recently launched the Starlink            satellite VisorSat which is designed to prevent too much reflection, which increases the brightness of the satellites.

Space X has coated the shiny parts of its VisorSat satellites with a very dark, black material called DarkSat.

3. Fund those projects to assist astronomers in the development of hardware and software-driven solutions to minimize satellite-generated pollution or debris in space.

Also Read: Space X Will Launch Starlink Satellites Today 

Elon Musk in the race of Building more Starlink satellites and his mission to settle the human race on Mars. For achieving his future vision Elon forgets the amount of pollution and threat he is creating for the earth’s atmosphere.

His ambitions will affect our space and earth’s atmosphere in the near future unless he will regulate the burgeoning launch of Starlink satellites.

“There are so many problems to solve on this planet first before we begin to trash other worlds.”

– E.A. Bucchianeri –