Starlink Project by SpaceX- Why Astronomers and The Public are Protesting

Starlink can disrupt astronomy



Followers of SpaceX are getting excited about the company’s latest project, Starlink, designed to provide internet access around the world via high-speed satellites that can beam information down to Earth. But there’s one group of people who aren’t so thrilled about it: astronomers and other scientists who have noticed that SpaceX’s satellites seem to disrupt their stargazing.


How did this project start?

Elon Musk, Elon Reeve Musk is a South African born Canadian-American business magnate, investor, engineer, and inventor. He is chairman of Tesla Inc., CEO of SpaceX, co-founder of Paypal and founder of Neuralink. In December 2016, he was ranked 21st on Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People. As of February 2018, he has a net worth of $20.9 billion and is listed by Forbes as the 53rd richest person in the world. For Starlink to succeed it will need to provide internet to people around Earth without interruption or service interruptions in poor weather conditions like fog and rain. With so many miles above ground, there are many risks involved with bad weather that could cause high winds that could take down one or more Starlinks during launch or once released into orbit around Earth.


What's wrong with it?

Starlink is a space satellite project by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, which will result in light pollution in our night sky. If allowed to launch, thousands of satellites will be sent up into earth’s orbit to beam down internet access around the world. This could interfere with astronomical observation worldwide. It should not be implemented as it will break numerous laws and treaties protecting scientific observations made by astronomers around the globe. Many astronomers believe that the satellites will disrupt their stargazing. They also have concerns about radio frequency interference from rocket launches at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base. SpaceX aims to get 60 satellites operational by 2020, followed by nearly 12,000 over seven years. They plan on launching 1,584 satellites in 2019 alone!


How will it affect you?

Business tycoon Elon Musk's aerospace company, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), recently released plans to launch 12,000 internet satellites into space. The goal is to create a worldwide system that allows users around the world to have fast internet connections at lower costs. But not everyone is on board with his idea. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a request from SpaceX in February 2019 allowing them to move forward with developing Starlink, their constellation of internet satellites. The satellites will reflect sunlight during the night. This will cause light pollution.


Is there anything good about this project?

According to media sources, Elon Musk’s Starlink project is going to launch some 12,000 satellites into space (these satellites will be used for broadband). Although 12,000 satellites seem like a lot, it’s actually not all that different from other satellite projects that have been completed in recent years. In fact, Starlink isn’t even taking over a full orbit of Earth; it will be in low-Earth orbit. This should make things much easier. It will also provide uninterrupted network to remote areas of the Earth.


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