Starlink SpaceX

Starlink is a next-generation satellite network capable of providing the planet's inhabitants with broadband Internet access. The satellites will operate in an orbit with an altitude of 290 kilometers.

2023

Arctic launch for Pentagon needs

In early December 2023, it became known that specialists from the US Armed Forces completed comprehensive testing of the SpaceX Starlink satellite communication system in the Arctic. Tests lasting approximately nine months yielded positive results.

Brian Beal, chief engineer of the Office of Integrated Capabilities as part of the US Air Force research laboratory, said that testing of broadband satellite Internet access was carried out in harsh conditions - in very strong winds and extremely low temperatures. It says Starlink is recognized as a "reliable and high-performance communication system" when used in the Arctic.

As soon as we securely secured the terminals so that they could withstand powerful gusts of wind, the system began to work stably without any problems. All tests went smoothly, - quotes the Bloomberg resource of Beale's statement.

Air Force experts, among other things, assessed how useful Starlink's satellite infrastructure could be for the Pentagon. The harsh climate and remoteness of the Arctic region limit communications through existing U.S. military satellites. Meanwhile, the presence of stable data channels in this zone is of great importance for the United States, as a number of states are trying to strengthen their presence in the Arctic zone.

As of the beginning of December 2023, the Starlink infrastructure has approximately 5 thousand spacecraft. Of these, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, more than 230 satellites are in polar orbit. This allows the Pentagon to use Starlink terminals as an alternative means of communication in the Arctic.^[1]

Launch in the Gaza Strip

At the end of October 2023, it became known that it Israel intends to break all ties with the company's Starlink project SpaceX due to the decision of its founder Elona Musk to provide satellite Internet access to the Gaza Strip. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Kari said the country would use all available means to discourage the group's use of Starlink satellite communications. HAMAS

On October 28, 2023, Musk announced that Starlink plans to provide satellite communications services to international organizations that provide assistance to residents of the Gaza Strip. As of the specified date, the blackouts in the region have worsened an already desperate situation, making rescue operations difficult. Communications and Internet services in the Gaza Strip were completely paralyzed due to bombing, which destroyed cellular towers and ground data lines. In response, Musk promised to organize satellite communications for "internationally recognized organizations," which caused Israel's fury.

Hamas will use satellite internet for terrorist activities. Perhaps Musk will decide to link it to the release of our kidnapped children, sons, daughters, old people. In the meantime, my office is severing all ties with Starlink. Israel will use all means at its disposal to prevent the use of the Starlink network, Kari said.

In turn, the founder of SpaceX stressed that if Starlink provides communication for the Gaza Strip, it will do so solely for humanitarian reasons. According to Musk, as of the end of October 2023, no Starlink terminal had tried to connect from the region. If this happens, the company will take all necessary measures.^[2]

Launch of collaboration to expand satellite broadband in Kenya and Nigeria

In September 2023, it became known that Elon Musk's Starlink will partner with e-commerce company Jumia Technologies AG to expand satellite broadband services in Africa. SpaceX satellite kits will be distributed in Nigeria and Kenya. The terminals will help provide broadband services in Africa.

Blocking Starlink by the Russian military during a special operation in Ukraine

The Armed Forces (Armed Forces) of the Russian Federation began to use electronic warfare (electronic warfare) means to jam Internet the satellite Starlink in the Luhansk tactical direction. This was announced on July 31, 2023 RIA Novosti LPR by a "" military expert, retired lieutenant colonel Andrei Marochko.

Based on an analysis of the negotiations of Ukrainian militants on the line of combat contact, they had difficulties using the Internet through Starlink satellites. Many people attribute this to the fact that the electronic warfare of the RF Armed Forces began to jam the communication provided by SpaceX, "he told Marochko.

On June 2, 2023, the US authorities signed a new contract with SpaceX to provide satellite communication services to Kyiv using Starlink terminals. Information on the number of terminals provided, as well as the amount of the transaction by July 31, 2023, was not disclosed.

In early July 2023, it became known that Russian artillery destroyed the Ukrainian Starlink station in the Artyomovsk direction. It was also reported that Elon Musk denied the command of the Ukrainian army access to the Starlink Internet connection near Crimea. Kyiv wanted to use satellite Internet to control surface drones in the Black Sea, writes The New York Times (NYT), citing sources familiar with the situation.

At the same time, as the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov told the newspaper, when Kherson came under the control of Kyiv, Musk "very quickly" responded to a request to distribute the Internet on this territory, since communication from Starlink is not available in Russian-controlled areas. Fedorov called Starlink "blood" of the entire communications infrastructure of Ukraine and "one of the fundamental components" of the success of Kyiv. By the end of July 2023, about 42 thousand Starlink terminals are used in Ukraine, NYT notes.^[3]

Russia's push to disrupt Ukrainian troops "internet access by targeting the Starlink satellites that billionaire Elon Musk has provided to Kyiv since the early days of the war has proved more advanced than previously known in the US, according to a classified US intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post.

Moscow has been experimenting with its Tobol electronic warfare systems for months in an attempt to disrupt Ukraine's Starlink signal transmission, a top-secret assessment claims.

The document dates from March 2023 and does not indicate whether any of the Russian tests were successful. Still, intelligence data confirms what observers had previously only assumed: A program designed to protect Russia's satellites could be used to attack satellites used by its adversaries.

Residents of Ukraine massively block satellite Internet Starlink

At the end of March 2023, it became known that residents of Ukraine faced massive blocking when connected to the Starlink satellite Internet access system. The problem could affect tens of thousands of users.

According to the resource "Страна.ua," Ukraine was at the center of an international fraudulent scheme using Starlink terminals. Intermediaries buy equipment on the stock, resell it to Ukraine at full price, and then refuse it. For this reason, Starlink stops servicing such terminals, blocking their connection to the satellite infrastructure. Moreover, more and more cases of sales of stolen Starlink equipment in Ukraine are being recorded. Despite the fact that Starlink terminals in the country can be officially purchased through the Space X website, many Ukrainians continue to order them from abroad in order to save up to 30% of the cost.

Many terminals stopped working with the message "No active account." When trying to turn to Space X technical support, the owners of such terminals receive answers about signs of fraudulent actions, "said Vladimir Stepanets, founder of the People's Starlink group, quoted by Страна.ua.

It is said that ordinary citizens, business representatives and even the military face blocking satellite Internet access in Ukraine. Users are notified that their accounts are invalid, and they cannot be replenished. As reported, SpaceX often faces a situation when a deferred payment occurs: in this case, the buyer can cancel the transfer of funds, while the parcel at that time may already be on the way. Thus, the terminal is delivered, and the operator does not receive money. As a result, if SpaceX identifies the equipment as problematic (that is, unpaid), it simply blocks the user's account.^[4]

New generation of Starlink satellites crashes out of orbit

On March 22, 2023, the head of SpaceXilon Musk announced problems with the latest Starlink V2 Mini satellites, designed to organize high-speed Internet access. Due to the manifested problems, some spacecraft will be reduced from orbit.

The first batch of Starlink V2 Mini - the so-called "Group 6-1" (Group 6-1) - was launched in February 2023. These devices are much larger than the first generation Starlink satellites. The Starlink V2 Mini uses improved phased array antennas and additional E-band hardware. Thanks to such constructive changes, the communication channel capacity was quadrupled compared to the previous generation satellites.

Soon after launching and reaching an altitude of almost 370km, the Starlink V2 Mini satellites reportedly began to transition to higher orbits. However, a few days later they stopped at around 380km. Then, from March 15, 2023, the devices began to lose altitude at different speeds. Moreover, at least two satellites dropped sharply to 365 km. So far, all these spacecraft remain in orbit, but their unusual behavior speaks of technical malfunctions. At the same time, nothing is reported about the causes of the failure.

Starlink V2 has a lot of new technologies, so, as expected, we have certain problems. Some satellites will be reduced from orbit, while others will undergo thorough testing, Musk said.

Starlink V2 Mini devices have a mass of about 800 kg, and a Falcon 9 rocket is used to launch them. For comparison: satellites of the first generation weigh approximately 300 kg. Full-size 2000-kilogram satellites Starlink V2 with solar panels 20 meters long will be launched into orbit using the Starship carrier.^[5]

Failure in an attempt to ban the use of the Starlink brand owned by a local IT company in Ukraine

On March 18, 2023, it became known that the Ukrainian IT company Starlink won the trial with the American SpaceX. Elon Musk's corporation demanded the termination of the Starlink trademark due to the fact that it coincides with the name of SpaceX's subsidiary, Starlink.

Back in 2021, SpaceX turned to the founder of the Ukrainian Starlink, Sergei Dulitsky, so that this company would abandon its own brand. Dulitsky was ready to meet the American side, subject to compensation for changing the name of the company. However, it was not possible to find a common language. As a result, according to the Страна.ua resource, in October 2022, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against Starlink LLC, as well as Ukrpatent (demanding that the Starlink brand be declared invalid). The proceedings were opened on October 24, 2022, and the first meeting was scheduled for December 8 of the same year.

On March 2, 2023, the Kyiv Economic Court refused to satisfy SpaceX's claim. During the proceedings, it turned out that the Ukrainian Starlink LLC has existed for more than 12 years: in particular, an application for registration of the trademark of the same name was submitted back in March 2010, and the company received the rights to the sign in February 2011. At the same time, the American Starlink began its activities later - in 2015. In Ukraine, SpaceX applied for registration of the Starlink brand in 2020 and received the rights to it only in August 2022. Thus, Musk's claims against Starlink LLC are unfounded.

It is also noted that SpaceX announced the start of the Starlink satellite communication system in Ukraine in February 2022. As of the end of the same year, Kyiv received about 24 thousand Starlink terminals with plans to supply about 10 thousand more devices.^[6][7]

Limitation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the use of Starlink to control drones

In February 2023, SpaceX restricted Ukrainian military access to Starlink satellite communications to control drones. SpaceX does not want its technology to be used for offensive purposes.

2022

The second generation Starlink satellites have been launched into orbit. They can distribute the Internet to smartphones

On December 28, 2022, SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, launched another launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with satellites from the global Internet group Starlink. This time, the second generation spacecraft, which have improved characteristics and expanded functionality, were first sent to orbit.

The rocket launched from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral (Florida), carrying 54 Starlink Gen2 satellites on board. Such devices are much larger (weight is approximately 1.25 tons) and more powerful than their predecessors - they can be located in other orbits. This will increase the bandwidth of the network, and therefore improve the quality of Internet services. In addition, the second generation satellites are capable of transmitting data directly to mobile devices of subscribers, in particular, to smartphones.

In accordance with our new license, we can now deploy satellites in new orbits, which will add even more network bandwidth. Ultimately, this will allow us to attract more customers and provide better service, especially in busy areas, "said Jesse Anderson, SpaceX production and design manager.

After the launch, the first stage of Falcon 9 returned to Earth, landing on the SpaceX A Shortfall of Gravitas platform in the Atlantic Ocean. As part of this launch, this stage has already made its 11th flight: it previously completed five Starlink missions, launched two American GPS satellites, a commercial Nilesat 301 satellite, and also delivered astronaut crews under the Inspiration4 and Ax-1 programs. Thus, in 2022, SpaceX carried out a total of 60 launches of launch vehicles. For comparison: the result of 2021 is almost half as much - 31 launches.^[8]

Ukraine announced an agreement with SpaceX on new supplies of several thousand Starlink antennas for satellite Internet

In December 2022, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov announced that Kyiv had reached an agreement with SpaceX and would receive several thousand more Starlink antennas for satellite Internet.

SpaceX unveils military version of Starlink satellites

On December 5, 2022, SpaceX revealed information about the Starshield project: we are talking about the further development of the Starlink satellite communication system, taking into account the requirements of the US military and government departments. Read more here.

US authorities gave permission to launch 7.5 thousand Starlink satellites

On December 1, 2022, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued permission to SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, to launch thousands of new Starlink satellites. We are talking about about 7.5 thousand devices.

Our solution will allow SpaceX to begin deploying the Gen2 generation of Starlink spacecraft, which will provide satellite broadband for residents throughout North America, including those who live and work in remote areas traditionally not served by ground systems, the FCC said.

However, the current FCC ruling is only a partial victory for SpaceX. The fact is that Musk's company has applied for permission to launch 29,988 Starlink 2.0 satellites. But the US Federal Communications Commission is delaying a decision on the issue for now.

The FCC decree is very important in terms of the implementation of SpaceX's program to deploy satellite infrastructure for Internet access. SpaceX has already received permission from the FCC to withdraw approximately 12,000 first-generation Starlink satellites. But the organization of high-quality communication requires second-generation devices. The Starlink Gen2 satellites are much larger and more powerful than their predecessors: they weigh approximately 1.25 tons. Such sets are capable of transmitting data directly to mobile devices of subscribers.

SpaceX has launched approximately 3.5 thousand first-generation Starlink satellites into orbit. As of June 2022, the service had about 500 thousand users. All Starlink devices were launched on the Falcon 9 rocket, but in the future it is planned to use more powerful carriers. Experts fear that such a large-scale satellite infrastructure will create problems for the launch of other spacecraft and could seriously worsen the situation with space debris.^[9]

1.3 thousand terminals are disconnected in Ukraine due to lack of funding

CNN in November 2022 wrote that 1,300 Starlink terminals no longer work in the interests of providing communications to the Ukrainian armed forces due to lack of funding. In October Kiev , he asked To London to pay a monthly payment in the amount of 3.25 million. dollars However, the British official said he Britain pays only for those Starlink terminals that are of significant tactical importance on the battlefield.

US authorities are negotiating with Elon Musk on the use of the Starlink network by protesters in Iran

In October 2022, the United States is exploring the possibility of providing Starlink to Iranian protesters. White House officials suggest that Iranian authorities may turn off Internet access for residents of the country. The Starlink system can provide Iranians with access to the network if the authorities decide to introduce such restrictions. 

Refusal to provide satellite services for the military in Ukraine at its own expense

Elon Musk's SpaceX said in September 2022 that it could no longer pay for critical Starlink satellite services in Ukraine and was asking the Pentagon to shoulder the costs.

By this time, about 20,000 Starlink satellite vehicles had been transferred to Ukraine, and Musk tweeted that "the operation cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year."

"We are not able to provide terminals to Ukraine for free in the future or finance existing terminals for an indefinite period of time," SpaceX's director of government sales to the Pentagon wrote in a September letter.

Elon Musk said that there is a big difference between the connection of the world and the connection of the front. According to him, Starlink is the only communication system still operating on the Ukrainian front - everyone else is dead. Russia is actively trying to kill Starlink. To protect SpaceX has devoted huge resources to defense. Even so, Starlink could still die.

Internet fiber, telephone lines, cell towers and other space communications in combat areas were destroyed. Starlink is all that remains^[10]

At the end of October 2022, it became known that SpaceX would provide Ukraine with Starlink satellite communications and in the event of the Pentagon's refusal to provide funding to continue the network.

Elon Musk assured Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov of this.

The US military provides technical support to Ukrainian gunners on closed chats using Starlink

On September 20, 2022, it became known that about four dozen American troops help the Ukrainian military repair and service 155-mm howitzers, Javelin, HIMARS and other weapons. According to FCW, the Americans are not in Ukraine, they provide assistance through encrypted digital chats.

With the help of several Ukrainian linguists, American maintenance specialists communicate in 14 chats, one for each weapon and system, in the maintenance of which the Ukrainian military requires help. The Ukrainian military uses the Starlink satellite network to exchange video footage as needed.

{{quote 'Ukrainians identify need, experts diagnose... what is needed, and either help them repair it or order parts. And then we use the American supply system to get that part to its destination and get it to them, "said a lieutenant colonel involved in that program. The lieutenant colonel's name has not been revealed. }} Some of the needs are new even for American professionals. The Ukrainian military uses long-range guns, such as howitzers, much more intensively than the United States has used such weapons for decades.

{{quote'The wear and tear of these guns is something we just weren't prepared for because of the speed at which [Ukrainians] fire such projectiles. Their reliance on this field artillery system is what keeps them in this fight, "the lieutenant colonel said. When they fire them that way, you start to see some patterns, you see common faults. These weapons were not tested in this way. }} For example, as a result of intensive use, the inner grooves of the howitzer barrels wear out, which requires their frequent replacement.

Other problems, such as damage from bullets or ordinary wear and tear, are repaired by Ukrainian servicemen themselves. They also use computer design to develop a project, adjust it together with American specialists to obtain recommendations and independently manufacture parts.

The Ukrainian military has no direct connection with American arms manufacturers, and the country does not officially have American personnel to order spare parts or coordinate supplies.^[11]

Starlink will not work in Russia

On September 19, 2022, information appeared that the Starlink satellite network would not work in Russia, as well as in a number of other countries: in Belarus, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba. All these countries are not included in the network coverage map published on the Starlink website.^[12]

It is noteworthy that earlier the chief executive officer of SpaceX, which is the developer of the global satellite network Starlink, stated that the connection to Starlink is now available from anywhere on the planet, including Antarctica.^[13]

On the official website satellite of the system, when checking the availability of satellite delivery Internet at the address Russia , it says the following: "Our coverage will expand as we obtain permission, so please check future availability in your region."^[14]

The network was hacked using a chip for $25

In early August 2022, a cybersecurity specialist from the Belgian University of KU Leuven, Lennert Wouters, was able to hack into the Starlink satellite Internet terminal using homemade equipment worth only $25.

Lennert Wouters disassembled the Starlink satellite dish and created a special hacking tool that can be connected to it. The device is a custom printed circuit board, the cost of parts for it is only $25. After connecting the chip to the antenna, a series of failures will follow, closing the system and disabling security mechanisms such as authentication - thanks to this, the specialist was able to penetrate the previously blocked access to the Starlink system.

The engineer began testing the Starlink system for strength from May 2021, installing a terminal on the roof of the university. To open the metal cover of the antenna and access the contents, Lennert Vaughters used a building hairdryer, hacking tools, isopropyl alcohol. Inside was a large printed circuit board with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, the architecture of which has not been publicly disclosed, radio frequency equipment, power systems via Ethernet and a GPS receiver. Wouters began testing the Starlink system, receiving a 268Mbps download speed and a 49Mbps upload speed on the roof of his university building. Then it was time to open the device.

On August 13, 2022, Wouters posted the open source code of his hacking tool on GitHub, including some details necessary to carry out the attack. The researcher notified Starlink of the flaws in 2021, and the company paid Wouters through its vulnerability detection reward scheme. While SpaceX has released an update to complicate the attack, the underlying problem cannot be fixed until the company creates a new version of the main chip, Wouters added. All existing user terminals are vulnerable, Wouters said.^[15]

SpaceX lost $900 million in state subsidies. The regulator found the Starlink satellite system too slow

On August 10, 2022, federal regulators announced that SpaceX would not receive almost $900 million in subsidies allocated to it in December 2021, citing the fact that its satellite system "is still in the development stage of technology" and the company "could not demonstrate that it will be able to provide the promised services." Read more here.

China began to create means of disconnecting and destroying Starlink satellites due to threats to national security

As it became known at the end of May 2022 , China began to create means of disconnecting and destroying Starlink satellites due to threats to national security

China needs to develop anti-satellite capabilities, including control systems with unprecedented scale and sensitivity, to track and monitor each Starlink satellite, the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Communications Technology said.

It is necessary to use a combination of soft and tough methods of defeat to force some Starlink satellites to lose their functions and destroy the grouping's operating system, they write in an article for the Chinese magazine Modern Defense Technology.

According to Chinese experts, American military drones and stealth fighters can increase data transfer rates by more than 100 times using the Starlink connection.

Hfytt SpaceX has signed a contract with the US Department of Defense to develop new technologies based on the Starlink platform, including highly sensitive instruments capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons moving at five times the speed of sound or even faster in the Earth's atmosphere.

With more than 2,300 Starlink satellites in orbit (by May 2022), it is generally considered invulnerable, since the system can maintain performance even after the loss of some satellites.

According to open information, China is developing a variety of alternative anti-satellite technologies, including microwaves that can jam communications or burn electronic components.

Chinese scientists have also developed lasers to blind or damage satellites, nano satellites that can be launched in huge numbers to disable larger satellites, and cyber weapons to hack into a satellite communications network.^[16]

The US Agency for International Development sponsors the supply of Starlink satellite terminals to the Ukrainian military

On February 26, 2022, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mikhail Fedorov, through his Twitter blog, asked Elon Musk to provide the country with Starlink satellite Internet stations, and a few days later SpaceX launched its system in the country. It is primarily designed for use by government and military structures of Ukraine.

According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the special forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Aeroskazka" uses Starlink satellite communications in the work of reconnaissance and strike drones. One of the Aeroskazka employees told reporters that the most technically advanced drones are connected to Starlink, including those equipped with thermal imagers and therefore can be used at night.

The U.S. government is secretly paying millions of dollars by sponsoring sending Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine, according to The Washington Post. On April 5, 2022, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that it had purchased 1333 Starlink terminals from SpaceX for shipment to Ukraine. It is noted that initially the agency called it "a donation of the private sector in the amount of about $10 million," but did not specify how much funds invests in equipment or transport costs. According to the Washington Post, USAID actually agreed to purchase about 1.5 thousand standard Starlink terminals at $1,500 apiece and pay an additional more than $800 thousand for transportation costs.

As indicated in the publication of the publication, Starlink terminals will be purchased and sent on behalf of USAID by a third-party contractor who organizes the delivery of equipment from Los Angeles to Ukraine through Warsaw. It is also noted that Ilona Musk's company received about $3 million from the American authorities for telecommunications equipment sent to Ukraine.^[17]

Raising prices for Starlink services

On March 23, 2022, it became known that SpaceX it raised prices for both satellite Internet Starlink and orbit launch services satellites , citing. inflation More. here

Elon Musk refused to block Russian media: "I am a supporter of absolute freedom of speech"

American entrepreneur, head of Tesla and Space X Elon Musk refused to block Russian news sources, despite the pressure exerted on him.

Some states (not Ukraine) demanded that Starlink block Russian news sources. We won't do that unless at gunpoint. Sorry, but I'm a supporter of absolute freedom of speech, "Musk said on Twitter.

Earlier, Elon Musk, against the background of interruptions in the Internet connection that arose during the Russian military operation in Ukraine, activated Starlink in the last satellite communication service.

SpaceX loses 40 Starlink satellites

In early February 2022, it became known that 40 out of 49 Starlink microsatellites had gone out of orbit due to a strong magnetic storm. The satellites were blocked in safe mode and should disorbit as space debris. This was announced by SpaceX itself.

As SpaceX noted referring to the preliminary analysis, the increased resistance at low altitudes did not allow satellites to get out of safe mode to begin maneuvers to lift from orbit, and up to 40 satellites will enter the Earth's atmosphere until February 13, 2022. At the same time, the risk of collision with other satellites is zero, as representatives of the company added, since due to the peculiarities of its design, Starlink is destroyed when entering the atmosphere.

Geomagnetic storms occur when intense solar winds near Earth generate current and plasma shifts in the Earth's magnetosphere, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center, which is managed by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This interaction can heat the Earth's upper atmosphere and increase the density of the atmosphere high enough above the planet to affect satellites in low orbits, such as SpaceX's Starlink vehicles. The geomagnetic storm on February 4, 2022 followed the eruption of the Sun on January 30, 2021, the storm sent a wave of charged particles towards the Earth, the arrival of which was expected on February 2, 2022.

49 satellites launched by SpaceX on February 1, 2022, were launched into an initial orbit, which at its lowest point passes at an altitude of 210 km above the Earth. The company said it intends to continue bringing batches of Starlink satellites into low orbit up to 60 simultaneously so that they can be quickly disposed of in the event of a failure immediately after launch. It turned out that this orbit design made the fleet vulnerable to Friday's geomagnetic storm, but now it is possible to test the removal of vehicles from Earth's orbit.^[18]

2021

Deployment of ground stations for satellite internet

In early August 2021, it became known that SpaceX is starting to deploy ground stations for the Starlink satellite Internet from the Isle of Man in the UK. The company is reportedly finalising all procedures required to obtain a licence to build a ground station on the island. If the company gets permission to install two more bases, Starlink could provide full hybrid coverage across the country.

Installing ground stations is needed to cover rural broadband that does not have access to a fiber-optic network or 5G network, SpaceX said. In total, three ground stations will operate in the UK - in Buckinghamshire, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. With these three ground stations and a satellite network in orbit, SpaceX is expected to provide comprehensive broadband coverage across all regions of the UK. It is assumed that in other countries SpaceX will do the same, and as a result, Starlink will cease to be exclusively a satellite network, receiving the name hybrid.

In the UK, Starlink will charge customers £89 ($124) a month and £439 ($611) for a satellite dish, with internet speeds expected to be around 150 megabits per second. In early 2020, it was reported that Ofcom granted the company regulatory approval that would allow it to compete with existing services in Britain, such as OneWeb.

Musk said Starlink will finish beta testing in the summer of 2021.

Uptime, bandwidth and latency are improving rapidly, "Musk tweeted in April 2021.

The service already has more than 10,000 users, but thanks to ground stations, many more people will be able to connect to the new service.^[19]

Plan to launch the system by September

In June 2021, it was announced that SpaceX plans to provide wireless Internet around the world using the Starlink satellite system by September.

SpaceX plans to deploy a total of 12 thousand satellites with a total cost of about $10 billion.

The US Federal Communications Commission (CSF) approved SpaceX's plans in 2021 to deploy some Starlink satellites in a lower Earth orbit than planned, which will help provide high-speed broadband Internet to people who do not have access to it at that time.

Launch of 60 satellites

In mid-February 2021, the company SpaceX launched another 60 satellites into orbit for Internet Starlink. The launch of the heavy launch vehicle 9 Falcon from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral (Florida USA) took place on 06:59 on February 16 (Moscow time). The previous launch of the company's rocket with a similar cargo occurred on February 4, 2021.

The Falcon 9's reusable first stage failed to make a controlled landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic. A vertical landing on the automatic marine platform Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic was planned 8 minutes 24 seconds after the rocket launched, but the cameras did not record its landing on the drone platform. This first reusable stage was used for launches for the sixth time. The landing failure befell the company for the first time since March 2020, but saved the life of several seagulls who chose the landing platform.

An hour and a half after the launch of the rocket, all satellites were simultaneously launched into a circular orbit. According to SpaceX's plan, after testing the systems, Starlink satellites must climb into a 550 km working orbit using their own engines.

On February 16, 2021, the 19th Starlink group of vehicles was launched, which SpaceX is putting into orbit. The total number of communication satellites launched already exceeds a thousand.

Starlink is ideal for regions of the globe where it is still problematic to connect to the Internet, SpaceX wrote on its Twitter page, commenting on the launch of new travelers.

The Starlink program aims to improve and expand Internet communications around the globe. SpaceX plans to launch more than 11 thousand satellites within the framework of the project to create a global Internet network. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reports that the company has raised $500 million in investments for this project.^[20]

2020

US authorities allocated $885 million to launch Starlink satellite Internet in villages

In early December 2020, the Federal Communications Commission USA (FCC) SpaceX allocated about $885.51 million to the company to launch satellite Internet Starlink in 642,925 rural homes and enterprises located in 35 states. The satellite provider has become one of the biggest winners of the FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, in which funding is distributed over the next 10 years.

Thus, SpaceX will receive a little more than $88.5 million a year to provide Internet in rural areas. Charter Communications, the second largest cable company in the United States after Comcast, has made even greater investments: Charter will receive $1.22 billion over 10 years to serve 1.06 million homes and businesses in 24 states.

FCC funding can be used differently depending on the type of service. Cable companies like Charter and other wired providers typically use the money to expand their networks into new areas where broadband is not yet available. And SpaceX could theoretically provide Starlink services to all homes in rural America if it launches enough satellites, even without FCC funding.

But SpaceX could use the FCC money to reduce prices for access to its network, but the FCC announcement does not give such plans. While Starlink is in beta testing and costs $99 a month with a one-time fee of $499 for a user terminal, tripod installation and router.

In total, the FCC allocated $9.2 billion ($920 million per year) to finance 180 bidders in 49 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Windstream, Frontier and CenturyLink were also among the winners. Together, 180 providers "will provide high-speed broadband access to more than 5.2 million homes and businesses that are not yet serviced."^[21]

Availability to everyone

At the end of October 2020, Ookla Speedtest Intelligence published the results of testing the StarLink satellite Internet from SpaceX. It beat competitors (HughesNet and Viasat) in speed by almost four times.

According to PCMag, the average download speed for StarLink reached 79.5 Mbps, the download speed was 13.8 Mbps. The main competitors of Elon Musk, Viasat and HughesNet, provide the Internet in the United States with a download speed of no more than 25 Mbps, while the download speed is no more than 3 Mbps. Viasat has a download speed of 24.75 Mbps and a download speed of 3.25 Mbps. HughesNet has a download speed of 19.84 Mbps and a download speed of 2.64 Mbps.

Closed testing StarLink started in July 2020, since that time the Internet speed has increased 2.5 times. Open testing of the satellite Internet StarLink started on October 27 in the United States and Canada. The monthly subscription fee for StarLink is $99. To use the Internet, you need to buy a terminal with an antenna and a Wi-Fi router, the set will cost users almost $500.

In conditions of a degraded signal due to weather or any other conditions, the speed of the StarLink Internet decreased to 46 Mbps, but in the most ideal conditions, the speed reached 191.35 Mbps.

Space X noted that at the initial stage of providing access to satellite Internet, the installation of equipment takes about five minutes, and in the future this figure will be reduced to three minutes. The company also noted that the installation does not require any special knowledge.

As of the beginning of November 2020, there are 895 small low-flying satellites in the StarLink system, Ilona Musk's company intends to expand their number to 12 thousand units.^[22]

Launch of another 60 satellites for the Starlink Internet

In early September 2020, it became known that the American company SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which launched another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit. Elon Musk's company continues to work on creating a global network to provide the population with access to high-speed satellite Internet.

This is the 12th launch under the Starlink program. The launch of the launch vehicle took place at 8:46 am East Coast time USA (15:46 Moscow time), the actions took place on the territory of the cosmodrome, which is located at Cape Canaveral (Florida). The company said that the first stage of the Falcon 9 eight minutes later successfully landed on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean, and all 60 satellites successfully entered orbit. This was the third attempt by the company to put another batch of satellites into orbit, before that, weather conditions interfered with the task.

What a beautiful sight, "said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice.

Elon Musk's company launched the SpaceX project in 2015. The first batch of satellites went into orbit in late spring 2019. As of September 2020, the satellite network has over 700 devices. SpaceX is going to launch 12,000 vehicles into space.

The deployed network will provide the entire population of planet Earth with accessible and fast satellite Internet. The access speed of 1 gigabyte per second meets 5G standards . Investments in the Starlink program are estimated at $10 billion.

Other companies are also developing such programs, including OneWeb from the UK, which managed to launch 74 satellites into orbit before bankruptcy. Amazon has similar plans - the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued permission for the company to launch 3.2 thousand Kuiper devices .^[23]

Launch of another 57 satellites for fast Internet Starlink

In early August 2020, SpaceX successfully launched 57 more Starlink Internet satellites and two small BlackSky Global satellites into orbit to capture images of the Earth. The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket launched at 1:12 am EDT (08:12 Moscow time) from site 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral (Florida).

This was the fifth launch of the first stage of the Falcon 9. The Raketa carrier made another landing, gently descending onto the deck of a SpaceX drone in the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after launch. Overall, this is SpaceX's tenth Starlink mission since 2019 and the company's twelfth mission for 2020.

The new satellites joined SpaceX's Starlink mega-star in orbit, which now consists of 595 units. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk noted that SpaceX needs 400 to 800 Starlink satellites in orbit to begin deploying the network with minimal coverage in the southern United States. As conceived by the developers, a fully deployed network should provide the Internet even hard-to-reach and sparsely populated areas at a speed of 1 gigabit per second by the end of 2020. SpaceX has already received approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to build one million user terminals.

Together with Starlink satellites, two small satellites went into orbit to observe the Earth BlackSky. This transportation was organized by another company called Spaceflight, which entered into a contract with SpaceX. It's not the company's first deal with third-party firms: Three small Earth observation satellites built by San Francisco-based Planet went into orbit on the previous Starlink mission.^[24]

Roscosmos creates an analogue of Starlink

On July 18, 2020, it became known that the Sphere project would become an analogue of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system. The final program for the creation of the Sphere will be submitted for government approval in August, the press service of Roscosmos told RIA Novosti. Read more here.

Launch of 58 satellites

On June 13, 2020, the head Elon Musk company SpaceX launched another 58 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit. Their total number reached 540 pieces. Their goal is to help provide Lands residents with high-speed broadband internet access.

The ninth batch of satellites was launched into orbit using the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The launch took place on June 13 at 12:21 Moscow time from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral (Florida, USA).

Together with microsatellites, three devices of the American company Planet Labs were launched into orbit, on which a portable telescope and a camera for monitoring the Earth's surface are installed.

Landing on the automatic floating platform Of Course, I Still Love You, located in the Atlantic, 629 km from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral, was carried out 8 minutes 42 seconds after the launch of the rocket.

After the launch of the next group of satellites, SpaceX began accepting applications for connecting  the Starlink Internet. Residents of   the United States and Canada will be the first to test the service, and full deployment will begin by 2021.

To participate in the closed beta testing of the technology, you need to fill out an application on the site - indicate your email address, region of residence and zip code. After that, a letter will come stating that closed tests will begin in the summer of 2020, after which there will be public beta testing, which starts " from higher latitudes."

For the communication system to work everywhere - even in the most inaccessible and sparsely populated areas - it is necessary to deploy about 12 thousand small satellites in near-earth orbit. The access speed is 1 Gbps, which complies with the 5G standard. According to the plan, residents of the south of the United States will be the first to use SpaceX's high-speed Internet.^[25] 

Launch into space 32 thousand Linux computers for satellite Internet Starlink

In early June 2020 SpaceX Internet , the company announced that during each monthly launch of 60 Starlink satellite distribution vehicles, 4,000 computers are sent into orbit. The operating system Linux Starlink satellite network already has more than 32,000 Linux nodes and more than 6,000 microcontrollers.

The company plans to launch a public beta of the satellite internet service by the end of summer 2020 in the northern hemisphere and has received approval to deploy one million end-user terminals in the United States.

SpaceX recently asked the Federal Communications Commission to launch 30,000 second-generation satellites on top of the 12,000 that have already been approved. Assuming second-generation satellites have the same number of Linux computers on board, that means SpaceX plans to send at least two million Linux computers into space over the next few years.

Linux computers on board satellites work with the PREEMPT_RT patch, which was developed by an engineer at Red Hat as part of an initiative to turn Linux into a new operating system. The Dragon SpaceX spacecraft also uses Linux with flight software written in C++, and the ship's touch screen interface is rendered using Chromium and JavaScript. Therefore, all students who dream of working for the company are recommended to make studying Linux a central part of their education.

As Starlink's satellite service moves from the testing phase to operation, security becomes a critical issue for SpaceX.

We designed a system to use end-to-end data encryption to make it harder for an attacker who wants to intercept a satellite or gateway.[26]

Launching 60 satellites with Falcon 9 rocket

On January 7, 2020, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle successfully launched 60 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit. Falcon 9 launched at 5.19 Moscow time from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The rocket stage made a guided landing on the floating platform Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic Ocean. For this stage, this is the fourth flight.

2019

Three StarLink satellites broke down

At least three satellites of the StarLink low-orbit broadband system stopped communicating in June. They belong to the first batch of this constellation, which includes 60 satellites, launched by SpaceX in May 2019.

According to a company spokesman cited by Business Insider, these satellites no longer work and will gradually deorbit.

The mass of each satellite of the StarLink system is 227 kg, the total throughput of the entire group is from 2.5 Tbit/s to 3 Tbit/s. According to the head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, the launch of 400 StarLink satellites into orbit will allow you to start providing broadband Internet access. 800 vehicles in orbit, he said, will already provide a significant part of the required throughput of the system.

"Satellite Internet will bring in $30 billion annually"

Over the past few months, SpaceX has raised more than $1 billion for its satellite StarLink project BROADBAND ACCESS , Elon Musk said a day after the successful launch of the system's first 60 spacecraft. He also added that the launch of satellites into orbit was an impetus for new financial revenues, the agency reports. Bloomberg

The financing of the project (which was also announced after a successful launch) was formed in two operations for the placement of shares. The first, held in December 2018, brought SpaceX $486.2 million. The second, which ended by the beginning of May 2019, attracted investments in the amount of $535.7 million.

Elon Musk said that the launch business in the most successful year brought the company $3 billion, and the satellite Internet will bring in $30 billion annually. The head of SpaceX added that StarLink is a key element in the program for creating a base on the Moon and Mars, since the profit from the operation of this system will be used to develop new space technology.

Launching 60 satellites with Falcon 9 rocket

On May 24, 2019, it became known that the company SpaceX launched 60 satellites of the low-orbit broadband system. StarLink Elon Musk plans to launch 1,000 to 2,000 satellites of this system into orbit each year.

The launch was carried out by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle (RN). The first stage of this launch vehicle has already taken part in two launches, and after launch it was successfully landed on the automatic unmanned ship Of Course I Still Love You.

The mass of each satellite is 227 kg, the total throughput of the entire group is from 2.5 Tbit/s to 3 Tbit/s. However, the effective capacity used is 1 Tbit/s.

According to Elon Musk, putting 400 satellites into orbit will allow the service to begin. 800 vehicles in orbit, he said, will already provide a significant part of the required throughput of the system. A constellation of 1,000 satellites will allow us to talk about the economic viability of the system. He also said that the company plans to launch Falcon missiles from 1000 to 2000 satellites annually.

In December 2018, SpaceX announced its intention to raise $500 million in capital to create the StarLink low-orbit broadband access satellite system. It is planned to deploy a constellation of^[27] spacecraft^[28].

60 satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX company as part of the Starlink project are clearly visible from the Earth using amateur equipment, writes Onliner^[29]. They lined up in an extended line resembling a glowing train hurtling across the sky. On the night of May 25-26, their movement over the Sverdlovsk region was filmed by the Starvisor amateur observatory.

Satellite launch for Starlink delayed

On May 17, 2019, it became known that the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from 60 Internet-satellites for the project Starlink was postponed for the second time and should approximately take place in a week. This was reported by "" Sheets with reference to the company's website. Elona Musk SpaceX The exact date will be announced later.

Initially, the launch was supposed to take place on the morning of May 16 Moscow time from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was postponed for a day due to strong winds. On the morning of Friday, May 17, there was no launch, as SpaceX decided to update the satellite software and re-check everything.

Earlier, Elon Musk warned on Twitter that the first launch could not go according to plan, and reminded that to create a basic version of the satellite network, it would be necessary to make six rocket launches with 60 satellites on board, and to form a moderate coverage - 12 launches.

Musk showed what the first 60 devices look like on his Twitter account on May 11.

We are talking about the first dedicated Falcon 9 mission, within which exclusively SpaceX satellites are launched. In February 2018, SpaceX already launched two Starlink satellites into orbit - Tintin A and Tintin B (aka Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b), but these were only test versions of the devices. The main mission of the Falcon 9 then was to deliver the Spanish satellite Paz into orbit.

StarLink is a low-orbit satellite constellation project to provide Internet traffic. It involves using the Ku-band to transmit a signal from a satellite to a subscriber terminal and the Ka-band to transmit information from a terrestrial teleport (gateway) to a satellite. In total, the project plans to launch about 12 thousand satellites.

In February 2019, it became known that SpaceX, as part of the Starlink project, is going to deploy up to 1 million ground base stations and has submitted a request to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).^[30]

2018

Search for $500 million to create Starlink

On December 21, 2018, it became known that SpaceX intends to raise $500 million in capital to create a low-orbit satellite broadband system StarLink. The deployment of a constellation of 7,518 spacecraft is set to begin in 2019.

Funding is planned to come from both existing lenders and Scottish investment firm Baillie Gifford. If successful, the company's capitalization will reach $30.5 billion. And after the introduction of the StarLink system into commercial operation, the total cost of SpaceX will reach $50 billion. It is believed that StarLink will become a "cash cow" for SpaceX, since the margin of the communications business will be much higher than that of the launch - commercial use of the Falcon family of rockets.

On November 15, 2018, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the commercial use of the StarLink system in the United States. The company also received permission to increase the size of the group to 7,518 spacecraft. At the end of November, SpaceX received a $250 million loan from Bank of America to create StarLink. The company will^[31] seek SpaceX funding^[32] to^[33].

The withdrawal of several satellites by the Falcon 9 rocket

The aerospace company SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 launch vehicle in February 2018, which launched several new artificial satellites into Earth orbit, including two Tintin A&B satellites of the future Starlink global network, which will provide high-speed access To the Internet to anywhere in the globe. According to the plans, most of the satellites of this network should be deployed by 2024, additional satellites that will be launched later will only increase the coverage area and the quality of the Starlink network SpaceX^[34] the first^[35]

The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket was in many ways similar to all previous launches. The first stage separated from the rest of the rocket three minutes after launch. And, which is not very typical of SpaceX, no attempt was made to return the spent first stage back to Earth. The first stage was deliberately lost, because it was already an outdated version of Block 3, while improved versions of the Block 5 reusable stages will soon be used.

The main cargo of the Falcon 9 rocket was the Hisdesat PAZ satellite, a satellite designed to capture the Earth's surface. The resolution of the cameras of this satellite is so high that in images taken from space it will be possible to consider objects measuring 25 centimeters. In addition, during the day of work, the new satellite can shoot the surface, in area comparable to the area of ​ ​ Italy.

SpaceX made the first attempt to return the casing, which protects the payload during launch. This protective casing is a very high-tech device, estimated at 6 million, and in dollars order to return the casing, SpaceX has launched a special catcher boat into the sea, equipped with a strong network stretched over its deck. The casing itself was also equipped with tiny shunting engines and parachutes, which should provide a controlled descent to the boat. Unfortunately, the precious cargo did not hit the boat's network and fell to the surface of the water a few hundred meters from the boat.

The cost of the first stage is 70 percent of the cost of the Falcon 9 rocket as a whole, and the ability to return the protective casing will reduce the cost of one launch by another 10 percent, which is also not small.

2015: SpaceX Satellite Internet Development Program

SpaceX's Space Internet Development Program is based on a system of satellites operating at altitudes of about 750 kilometers.

The head of the company, Elon Musk, believes that in the future the system will be able to become the basis for an international Internet connection and turn into a huge provider that allows any user to connect to Internet networks, regardless of his location on the planet.

Within the framework of the project, which is designed for a five-year period, it is planned to put into orbit about 700 small satellites with a mass of just over 113 kilograms.

Notes