Starlink is
Changing the Night Sky
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tarlink, the brainchild of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is a satellite internet service that promises to bring high internet speeds and fast response times to any place in the world by using a constellation of low-orbiting mass-produced satellites.
It is set to revolutionise global access to the World Wide Web, and once fully operational is said to be affordable no matter on which continent or in which country you live. Currently, satellite internet is slow and cumbersome due to the height of 35 000 km where geostationary satellites are orbiting. Sending a signal on a round trip of 70 000 km before it is received will obviously always be slower than land-based cable internet. What makes Starlink different is that its satellites orbit at an altitude of only 550 km, which (theoretically) makes response time even faster than cable internet. All the user needs to get online is to subscribe to the service and point a small satellite dish at anywhere in the sky. The beta service is already available in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. While the internet speeds are not yet what they will eventually be, crucial lessons are being learnt to improve the service. Since the first batch of 60 Starlink satellites was launched in 2019, to date more than 1 400 satellites have been put into orbit. According to a February tweet by Musk, Starlink aims to
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cover most of the earth by the end of this year and the entire globe by 2022. Why use so many satellites? Because of the low orbits, a higher density of satellites is required for sustained connectivity. A larger number of satellites crisscrossing around the earth also allows for global coverage – even in a place like Antarctica. To achieve its goal, Starlink has applied for permission to launch 42 000 satellites. Some perspective? At the beginning of 2019, there were around 5 000 satellites in orbit. What are the benefits of Starlink in a developing country like Namibia? Access to affordable and fast internet and the wealth of information found on it has educational and social benefits that can have an impact on the entire community. Internet access gives access to online platforms and services such as e-banking. In rural areas, with the help of mobile electronic devices such as tablets, children can join digital classrooms and receive a proper education. Probably the single most important benefit that a system such as Starlink would provide. Having the ability to find information on any topic with the potential to help improve and increase a range of activities, a subsistence farmer, for example, would be able to find
