Starlink

Starlink
A batch of small satellites attached to the rocket with the Earth in the background
60 Starlink satellites stacked together before deployment on 24 May 2019
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
OperatorSpaceX
ApplicationsInternet service
Websitewww.starlink.com Edit this at Wikidata
ASN
  • 14593
Specifications
Spacecraft typeSmall satellite
Launch mass
  • v 0.9: 227 kg (500 lb)
  • v 1.0: 260 kg (570 lb)
  • v 1.5: ~306 kg (675 lb)[1]
  • v 2 mini: ~730 kg (1,610 lb)
  • v 2.0: ~1,250 kg (2,760 lb)[2]
Equipment
Regime
Production
StatusActive since 2019 (2019)

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by American aerospace company SpaceX,[3] providing coverage to over 70 countries. It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.[4]

SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of early March 2024, it consists of over 6,000 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO)[5] that communicate with designated ground transceivers. Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000. SpaceX announced reaching more than 1 million subscribers in December 2022,[6] 1.5 million subscribers in May 2023,[7] and 2 million subscribers in September 2023.[8]

The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing and orbit control facilities. In May 2018, SpaceX estimated the total cost of designing, building and deploying the constellation would be at least US$10 billion.[9] Revenues from Starlink in 2022 were reportedly $1.4 billion accompanied by a net loss, with a small profit being reported starting in 2023.[10]

Starlink has been extensively used in the Russo-Ukrainian War, a role for which it has been contracted by the United States Department of Defense.[11] Starshield, a military version of Starlink, is designed for government use.[12][13]

Astronomers have raised concerns about the effect the constellation may have on ground-based astronomy, and how the satellites will contribute to an already congested orbital environment.[14][15] SpaceX has attempted to mitigate astronometric interference concerns with measures to reduce the satellites' brightness during operation.[16] They are equipped with Hall-effect thrusters allowing them to orbit raise, station-keep, and de-orbit at the end of their lives. They are also designed to autonomously and smoothly avoid collisions based on uplinked tracking data.[17]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sfn-212306 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Grush, Loren (15 February 2018). "SpaceX is about to launch two of its space Internet satellites – the first of nearly 12,000". The Verge. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnbc-20220825 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ McDowell, Jonathan (3 January 2024). "Starlink Launch Statistics". Jonathan's Space Pages. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. ^ @SpaceX (19 December 2022). "Starlink now has more than 1,000,000 active subscribers" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ @Starlink (6 May 2023). "Thank you to our 1.5M+ customers around the world!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nsf20180517 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Maidenberg, Micah; Winkler, Rolfe (13 September 2023). "Starlink Surges but Is Still Far Short of SpaceX's Goals, Documents Show". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  9. ^ Macias, Amanda; Sheetz, Michael (1 June 2023). "Pentagon awards SpaceX with Ukraine contract for Starlink satellite internet". CNBC. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :starshieldsite was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :starshieldSheetz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Drake, Nadia (29 May 2019). "Will Elon Musk's Starlink satellites harm astronomy? Here's what we know". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  13. ^ "JASON Report on the Impacts of Large Satellite Constellations". National Science Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Astronomy Discussion with National Academy of Sciences" (Press release). SpaceX. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.