Whenever someone hears the name “Elon Musk”, the first thing that comes to mind is SpaceX, Tesla, or his 200 billion dollar net worth. But recently, this viewpoint amongst many people has been rapidly changing following the Russian-Ukraine crisis, which has been gaining heat as a new iron curtain seems to be abruptly taking its position, putting millions of people in turmoil and utter confusion. Russia started a massive invasion in Ukraine, making heavy use of bombs and cyber-attacks, which included hacking into the satellite internet provider’s network, and missiles. All of these deadly weapons have widely affected internet connections across major cities in Ukraine. While social media was heavily flooded with the Russian-Ukraine Crisis, Elon Musk gained attention and popularity when he used Starlink satellite internet service to help Ukrainians stay online. This quick and decisive action by Elon Musk made it a perfect reply to the news of his challenge to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to a one-handed fistfight for the future of Ukraine. At one point, where there had already been a mammoth amount of death and destruction, Elon Musk transformed into a superhero for many Ukrainians and people around the globe with his latest endeavour, Starlink, which helped civilians as well as the military to stay connected to each other during these baffling circumstances. 

Starlink, in its simplest terms, is a globe-encircling network of internet-beaming satellites that helps us stay online no matter where we are in the world. These satellites can communicate with each other and pass on information, creating chains of satellites to send data from a server to a device or vice-versa. The local ISPs used today to send the data through cables connected to a modem to relay the information. The modem is then connected to a router, which provides us with wireless internet connectivity. However, in rural areas, there is a lack of infrastructure, which makes it impossible to set up so many connections, and this results in 3.7 billion people having no internet connectivity. This causes people to lose touch with their family members who may be outside; it restricts children in these places from attending classes digitally; and most importantly, it limits their ability to stay updated with advancements that are taking place around the globe. In such a rapidly growing world, it is paramount that everyone is a digital native, and Elon Musk’s Starlink perfectly fits in to solve this issue by transfiguring the world with low-latency, high-speed internet.

Starlink plans to sell internet connections to almost anyone on the planet by way of a growing network of private satellites orbiting overhead in low Earth orbit. Starlink, a subsidiary of the well-known SpaceX, is planning to build a constellation of more than 12,000 satellites to create a physical mesh over the planet, with the first phase consisting of about 1600 satellites. This mesh will then relay the internet to every nodal point (receiver) from the nodes (satellites), almost a physical representation of the internet. This mechanism is based on a system that improves every time a node is added, and therefore, the company envisions a system with a total of 12,000 satellites, a figure that reaches the physical limits of the Low Earth Orbit. 

While the technology may seem complicated at first, setting up the Starlink connection is extremely easy. All you need to ensure is that the terminals have access to an open sky, and once that’s done, the tripod stand needs to be put on the ground. Lastly, the cable needs to be connected to a power source, which will get Starlink running. Since the router is already connected to the cable, there is no need for external wiring, making it extremely durable and easy to use even in areas where there is poorly developed infrastructure. As times have evolved and revolutionised, the Starlink app has even more interesting features which allow the customer to hover around with a multitude of options as well as scrutinise the other intriguing things that the company offers its people. 

The entire purpose of Starlink was to make internet access available to everyone around the world, particularly in rural areas, which is why it is very cost effective and affordable for anyone, costing only USD 99. At the same time, Starlink is considered to have the fastest satellite internet connection, reaching a speed of 129.29 Mbps, which is nowhere near the functionalities of traditional satellites. While such technology is very recent and novel, it is bound to attract many people around the globe, and it allows Musk to make it a global ISP, which will allow him to add a whopping 30 billion dollars to his already extensive net worth in the coming future – nothing less than a dream come true! 

While there are benefits to Starlink making human life on Earth much easier, there are problems attached to it too, which have been concerning astronomers for quite some time. Since Starlink creates a mesh over the planet and is deployed in chains of satellites, it may hinder or come in between the light coming from celestial bodies. Some experts warn that this may become a greater issue for astronomy than light pollution! While Musk is engrossed in solving this problem as soon as possible, SpaceX has rejected the claim of any negative impact on astronomy due to Starlink, making this a debatable topic. Although the satellites are equipped with thrusters to de-orbit after their lifetimes, there is still a possibility that they may add to the already existing problem of space debris if they collide with each other or fail to de-orbit. Apart from this, many people are worried that, as Starlink requires a clear sky, it will be difficult to get an active internet connection during periods when the weather starts showing its wild forms. 

At the moment, Starlink is not widely available in every region, but Elon Musk aspires to finish the project by the end of 2022 when the entire world will have access to cheap high-speed internet and WiFi connection, and this will be one of the biggest achievements in this decade to affect human society. Whether or not this will be sustainable can’t be commented on at this point, but the growth in technology is certainly reaching great heights with exponential growth taking place.