Starlink and its 12th Launch on September 03

If you have been to any rural place lately then you would have noticed that you get low range of network and slow or non availability of internet. Then you need to hear about Elon Musk's mission starlink.

SpaceX

What is starlink?

Don't go on its name, we are not connecting earth to any star or something like that. Starlink is a internet satellite constellation mission under none other than the craziest entrepreneur Elon Musk and his company SpaceX.

Why do we need this in the first place?

I don’t know about you guys but I have been to low spot areas and let me tell you if you’r a hardcore internet user then you might not like it. The internet we receive comes from the underwater cables in the oceans which are capable of only covering certain areas on the land and are difficult to maintain and are costly. Due to which the internet availability is concentrated around urban areas. The major purpose of the mission was to make the internet available in rural locations and in space.

Starlink Satellite

Satellite specifications:

The starlink satellite is a small satellite and is equipped with Ku, Ka and E-band phased array antennas (capable of capturing highly energized ions) and half-effect thrusters. It weighs around 227-270 kg(500 - 573 lbs) and is the size of a tabletop. Every individual satellite of this mission consists of only one solar panel. It is placed in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) Regime. Each satellite consists of 4 laser links, which means each satellite is connected to 4 other satellites. It also has inbuilt software to prevent it from colliding with other satellites in the low earth orbit.

Mission specifications:

Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A

Elon Musk in 2015, filed a petition to launch 4,000 starlink satellites which then was gradually increased to 12,000 satellites.
Starlink plans to send 42,000 such satellites in space, which will work in unison to bring us the affordable and fast internet and will look like a satellite constellation. These satellites will be placed in lower earth orbit which is a different orbit than that where the normal satellites are placed. The internet will be brought to your house via small devices called ground terminals or gateways which have a size of a "pizza" as termed by Elon Musk.The cost of this device will be included in the internet package. For now the charges are not disclosed by the officials.

How does starlink satellites work?

These satellites somewhat work in the same manner as the traditional internet satellites, signals from the internet service provider are sent to the satellites and then the satellites triangulate the signals back to the receiver on earth. In case of starlink the signals from the internet service provider are sent to one starlink satellite, then this satellite sends these signals to other four satellites with which it is connected. When the optimum number of satellites is reached then the signal is sent back to the receiver. This process overall reduces the latency and increases  the strength of the signal.

Speedtest on starlink??

Do you think that starlink satellites will take over the wired internet? Straight answer is no, starlink aims to bring the internet to rural places and still wired net is faster than starlink for now.
The starlink internet speed will reach upto 1 GB per second and 25 to 35 milliseconds of latency as stated by Elon Musk himself. But a recent beta speed test conducted by the speed test giant Ookla shows its speed to be around 60 mbps which is sufficient for you to stream your favourite OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon prime. I know you're not satisfied with these results but think where you hardly get 2-5 mbps, there this speed would be like a dream come true.

Recent Updates on the Mission:

Trajectory of Falcon 9

The 12th launch of starlink mission was carried out on 3rd September 2020 at Kennedy Space Center on launchpad number 39A on three stage SpaceX's  Falcon 9. This launch had a total payload of  60 starlink satellites.This all together increases the count of starlink satellites to roughly around 650 in space.
In total three launch missions are completed in 2020.
Starlink is set to provide its services in the northern US and Canada by the end of 2020 and to all the global citizens by 2021. A speed of 100 mbps is claimed by the company.

Potential of stralink:

Musk's Mission to Mars

SpaceX starlink mission is targeting a 1 trillion dollar world internet market. It is expected to produce 30 billion dollars every year which is much greater than SpaceX alone.
The main purpose of the mission of granting internet in the rural area and space will be fulfilled one day along the path. But the actual purpose of the mission is a bit different.
The real purpose of the starlink mission is to generate revenue for Elon Musk's dream of settling to mars one day. The potential is really high.

Public opinions towards the Mission:

One day we will be able to take selfies on the highest mountain on earth, stream in rural area etc. with all this, some people like the astrographers and major personals working for space research are unhappy with the mission.The problem is that these satellites will produce more space debris and will increase the space pollution. In the case of astronomers, light produced by these satellites will cause light pollution which makes it difficult to do space research as all the research is conducted through telescopes on the earth. To which spacex has provided a solution by coating their satellites with a shade which reduces the reflectivity of the satellites.
So if you want to know if the starlink services are available in your locality then make sure to visit starlink's official website.