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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is known for its frequent launches, which now dominate the space industry. But the satellites that send the rockets into space are just as important to the company as the launches. Starlink is SpaceX’s answer to providing global, high-speed internet coverage using a network of thousands of satellites buzzing around the planet in a region known as low Earth orbit (LEO), about 550 kilometers above the Earth’s surface .
SpaceX launched its first batch of Starlink satellites in 2019. Adoption of the service has skyrocketed since then. The company says Starlink has more than 2 million active customers and is available on all seven continents and in more than 60 countries.
“This growth is uncharacteristic in terms of its size. While previous satellite service providers have risen to anywhere from 500,000 to just over a million subscribers. And this has taken, you know, a ten-year period, says Starlinks. The race to 2 million subscribers has only taken the better part of two years,” says Brent Prokosh, Senior Affiliate Consultant at Euroconsult.
A Falcon 9 rocket launches a Starlink mission on January 20, 2021.
SpaceX
Experts estimate that the global market for consumer satellite services, including TV, radio and broadband internet, would be worth more than $92 billion by 2022. And Starlink could be well positioned to capture a large share of the market. While Starlink’s offering was initially aimed at the consumer segment, it has been expanded to serve business customers, including in the maritime and aviation industries.
“Starlink’s importance to SpaceX overall as a company is imperative. Euroconsult estimates that, optimistically, these Starlink activities could represent more than 40% of SpaceX’s total activities by the end of 2023. This total would add up to somewhere over $3 billion. from Starlink,” says Prokosh.
Starlink has been praised for its ability to connect remote parts of the world that would otherwise not have access to reliable internet. The service has also become indispensable in areas affected by natural disasters, and, more recently, in times of conflict, especially during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The big advantage of Starlink and the way it is used in Ukraine today is communication. It provides a path for the military so that citizens can stay connected to the outside world. It provides a path for the military to communicate with each other and provide command and control direction to their forces,” said Kari Bingen, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Ukrainian Armed Forces set up Starlink satellite receivers to provide connectivity to civilians at Independence Square following the Russian army’s withdrawal from Kherson to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, Ukraine, on November 13, 2022.
Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
But Starlink’s growing influence is drawing criticism from critics who say Musk is meddling in geopolitics. Meanwhile, the scientific community has its own concerns.
“The astronomical community was concerned a few years ago about the first launch of the Starlink satellite, because the projection of the entire constellation of several tens of thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit was immediately perceived as an interference for both optical observation as for radio waves. observation,” said Piero Benvenuti, interim secretary general of the International Astronomical Union.
Watch the video to learn more about Starlink’s rapid expansion and whether it can continue.
