According to their website, “Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.”
It is a network developed and owned by a USA spaceflight company, Space X, to provide low-cost internet to remote locations. Currently, it covers 75 countries but aims to provide global mobile broadband.
It was launched in 2019 and by December 2022 it had over a million subscribers. By September 2023, the numbers had doubled.
Currently, there are almost 6 thousand Starlink satellites orbiting at 550 km above the earth.
One satellite is about 800kgs and has a lifespan of 5 years. They are visible to an unaided eye appearing as a string of bright lights moving across the sky.
Most satellite internet services are from geostationary satellites that orbit at 37,786 km. The roundtrip data time between the user and satellite, known as latency, is high making it early impossible to support live streaming, online gaming, video calls, or other high data rate activities.
Onwardly, the mission of Space X is to be a leader in space sustainability by leading innovations aimed at reducing the cost of accessing space frequently.
Starlink Internet is the first commercially available phased array antenna.
Its kit arrives with everything you need to get online in minutes as long as there’s a clear sky view. It costs about 100K to install and another Kshs 6,500 monthly subscription. It is currently available in Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi.
Starshield, a military version of Starlink, is designed for the USA government use.
