Elon Musk hints at ‘Starlink’ launch in India after assembly PM Modi. Here’s what it’s essential to know

Tesla chief Elon Musk, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the US on Wednesday, hinted at plans to introduce “Starlink” in India – an web service supplier from SpaceX, which he additionally owns. Musk mentioned Starlink can be an “incredible help to those in remote or rural villages, where they perhaps either may have no access to the Internet or the Internet is very expensive and slow”.

In March, SpaceX launched a set of “52 Starlink internet satellites” to orbit from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. The firm has additional obtained permission to place 12,000 such satellites in low Earth orbit and has utilized for permission to deploy a further 30,000 satellites. Let’s perceive why Starlink differs from different web service suppliers.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is the world’s first “satellite constellation” that makes use of low-Earth orbit to ship broadband web that’s able to supporting streaming, on-line gaming, video calls and extra.

The firm claims to ship “high-speed and low latency internet” to customers everywhere in the world because it makes use of superior satellites and consumer {hardware} coupled with deep expertise of each spacecraft and on-orbit operations.

How does it work?

-According to Starlink’s official web site, most satellite tv for pc web providers use a single geostationary satellite tv for pc that’s situated far-off from Earth, at a distance of about 35,786 km.

-Because of the lengthy distance, the time it takes for information to journey between the consumer and the satellite tv for pc, often known as latency, is excessive. This excessive latency makes it troublesome to assist actions like streaming, on-line gaming, and video calls.

-Starlink is a community of hundreds of satellites that orbit a lot nearer to Earth, at a distance of about 550 km. These satellites are unfold out to cowl all the globe.

-Being in a decrease orbit, the latency with Starlink is considerably diminished to round 25 milliseconds, in comparison with over 600 milliseconds with conventional satellite tv for pc web providers.

-The decrease latency provided by Starlink makes it extra appropriate for actions that require real-time interplay.

Features of Starlink

-Starlink satellites have a compact, flat panel design that reduces their quantity, permitting for dense launches utilizing SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

-These satellites are outfitted with autonomous maneuvering capabilities to keep away from collisions with house particles and different spacecraft.

-Starlink’s satellites utilise “custom-built navigation sensors” to find out their exact location, altitude, and orientation. This permits correct placement of broadband connectivity throughout the globe.

-Starlink can be testing optical house lasers on its satellites, enabling information transmission with out counting on native floor stations.

-Each Starlink satellite tv for pc incorporates 4 highly effective phased array antennas and two parabolic antennas, leading to elevated information transmission capability.

-Starlink satellites are propelled by environment friendly ion thrusters powered by krypton. These thrusters allow orbital changes, maneuvering in house, and managed deorbiting on the finish of their lifespan.

-Starlink is the primary spacecraft to utilise “krypton propulsion” as an alternative of typical xenon. Krypton is chosen as a result of its barely greater ionization potential and cost-effectiveness.