Everything You Need to Know About Starlink

Satellite internet uses a satellite orbiting the Earth to transmit an internet connection to a dish on the ground. Because of this vast distance between dish and satellite, there will naturally be a slight, but noticeable, delay, also called latency. Also, there are many expensive factors involved with satellite internet. This includes the launching of satellites, dish installation costs, and the labor and actual feasibility of delivering high speeds to homes that might be remote, far away from urban areas. This is why satellite internet can normally be a bit pricey.

Satellite internet in the United States is currently dominated in the market by two companies, Viasat and HughesNet, both offering plans with decent speeds, especially when they are the only options for many households. Because the only infrastructure necessary for a satellite internet connection is a dish, satellite companies can provide essentially global service if their satellites orbit overhead. This makes it the best – and only – option available for internet in many places.

Starlink satellites are launched by SpaceX’s own reusable rockets, making the process of launching much easier for the company. Their satellites also orbit 60 times closer to Earth than typical geostationary satellites do. Geostationary satellites orbit high above the Earth at a distance at which they are not quickly orbiting the Earth – but are instead orbiting so they are locked to a corresponding location on Earth, typically the equator. They orbit about 22,000 miles above the planet, which for reference is about 1/12th the distance to the Moon. This means that they appear stationary in the sky, hence their name, geostationary. Geostationary satellites are great for meteorology, surveillance and radio communications.

Starlink satellites are low-Earth orbiting satellites, meaning they can be seen moving across the nighttime sky. This is because they are orbiting so low to the ground (only about 340 miles up) that the speed at which they travel is faster than the relative rotation of Earth in order to fight the effects of gravity. Simply put, if they don’t move that fast, they will fall back to Earth.

The low-Earth orbit of Starlink satellites means that customers will have automatically faster internet connections simply because the signals that bounce from the satellite to your dish will be much closer, hence faster, than high-orbiting geostationary communications satellites.

Currently, the Starlink beta costs $99 per month and the Starlink installation kit is a one-time fee of $499. Speeds will vary between 50 Mbps and 150 Mbps. Because this is still the beta phase, expect prices and speeds to change as more satellites and ground stations come online.

Starlink has not been without its criticisms. The main issue revolves around interference with astronomy, especially night sky observations. Because Starlink satellites are low-Earth orbiting they will be visible to the naked eye as moving objects across the sky. With a fleet expected in the thousands, this could spell serious trouble for nighttime sky observers and astronomers. Starlink has already had to reduce the albedo (reflectivity) of its satellites after receiving major backlash shortly after initial launches were made.

Another serious issue is what is called the Kessler syndrome. This refers to inevitable space pollution that derives from constantly putting satellites into low orbit, building up a ring of pollution that leads to collisions between satellites. This would increase the likelihood of collisions as more and more space debris collect, creating a ripple effect that would be catastrophic to the planet. In an extreme worst case scenario, an impenetrable ring of space debris would trap humanity on Earth.

Starlink has tried to quell these criticisms by saying its satellites will simply fall back to Earth after they stop working or are taken offline after five years. Critics still say that five years is way too long of a period to allow space junk to remain in orbit.