4 minute read
TECH KNOW TIDBITS
Starlink satellite internet development well underway
BY LINDA JUMP
SpaceX is creating a new constellation — one created with thousands of low-level broadband satellites to provide nearly-global internet service for video calls, online gaming, streaming and high-data activities.
Already, according to starlink. com, Starlink satellites can provide coverage to 32 countries where its use has been licensed. Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX, said on social media that 100,000 satellite terminals have already been shipped globally. A Starlink kit can be ordered online for this area, but there is no indication of wait time.
Musk reported that Starlink is active in the Ukraine, after officials there appealed to him for internet communication after Russia’s invasion. U.S. YouTubers with the service claim it is reliable and offers much faster download speeds. A map at the website shows service areas in Europe, parts of North America, far west South America, southern Australia and New Zealand.
The website reports, “Starlink is ideally suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable. People across the globe are using Starlink to gain access to education, health services and even communications support during natural disasters.
“Starlink service works by sending information through the vacuum of space, where it travels much faster than in fiberoptic cable.”
Flat-panel 500-pound satellites with thrusters use krypton gas to generate an impulse. The satellites have optical trackers to spot space debris or space vehicles, avoid them, and to maintain position. About 2,000 satellites have been launched, but SpaceX has approval for 12,000.
Most internet providers rely on a stationary satellite circling the globe at about 21,700 miles in space, while Starlink is a cluster only 310 miles up. Development began in 2015, with the first satellite launched in 2018.
The monthly fee at the web site is listed as $110, with a one-time hardware fee of $599 for a receiver disk that must be placed with an unobstructed view of the sky.
SpaceX’s competitors for low-level satellite internet include OneWeb, Amazon’s Kuiper, Hughes-Net and Viasat.
Jim Collins, an adjunct professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, said installations of low-level constellations of satellites creates a rift between observational astronomers and private business because of light pollution and its effect on the atmosphere. “The use of the sky for observation and the use of the sky for communications are coming into conflict.”
For him, it’s too soon to test Starlink, but “it would be interesting to compare” Starlink service with Spectrum, AT&T or other local internet services. SL
SENIOR LIFE Linda Jump and Shutterstock
Jim Collins, Ph.D., teaches an astronomy class for the Shepherd’s Center of South Brevard.
PASQUALE REINO, DO
8045 Spyglass Hill Road, Suite 104 Melbourne, FL 32940 (321) 344-9030 f l.hughston.com
Doctor Reino is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He graduated from Westminster College in Wilmington, PA and received his doctoral degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2007. Dr. Reino completed his orthopedic surgery residency at South Pointe Hospital and was Chief Resident at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in 2012.
From 2012-2016, Dr. Reino was in the US Navy as an orthopedic surgeon. He worked at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, treating service members returning from Afghanistan with complex war injuries. Providing care for returning war heroes was very rewarding personally and professionally. While stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, for two years, he focused on hand surgery and complex arthroscopy. His final tour of duty at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, FL, focused on hand surgery, arthroscopy, and total joint replacement. Dr. Reino rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was awarded two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Joint Service Commendation medal.
He practices advanced techniques in joint replacement – direct anterior total hips, computer aided total shoulders, and robotic assisted knee and partial knee replacements. He has an added focus on outpatient total joints, minimally invasive approaches, and fast recovery therapy. Dr. Reino also specializes in hand surgery, including endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery and arthroscopy of shoulders and knees.
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