Introduction
Starlink is a satellite-based network provided in several parts of the world by SpaceX. Elon Musk, the U.S. tech billionaire, is the person behind the new product’s realization. Musk is the same individual who owns and operates the world’s electric car company, Tesla. Starlink reveals a lot concerning humanity, natural order, and human’s potential to overcome nature. The invention’s pioneer refers to the creation as the necessary tool required for people to live on Mars, where the electric connections supporting most of the earthly telephone communication will be boring.
Accordingly, Starlink’s dependence on the satellite system allows the network to reach significantly remote areas where establishing other connectivity lines is problematic. This aspect makes the product highly welcome among many Americans, explaining its substantially increased local and international demand. Another aspect promoting Starlink’s competitiveness is its high connectivity speed relative to many wireless networks in the U.S. SpaceX is not the only satellite network provider in the world. However, the company’s rapid advancement and subsequent dominance in the sector cause significant concerns. Starlink’s current disproportionate drawbacks relative to benefits reveal the technology’s potential harm.
Starlink’s Origin and Operation
SpaceX is an American firm responsible for the creation of the operation of Starlink, the satellite internet blueprint. The company announced the invention’s proposal in 2015 through its CEO, Elon Musk, but failed to give it a name until the 2020s (Mann et al., 2022). During the product’s initial reports, Musk informed the world about SpaceX’s application to the international regulators to place satellites near the ground orbit to support communication.
The firm started the project by launching several satellites into the sky in 2018 (Mann et al., 2022). SpaceX estimates the appropriate number of satellites for the realization of a reliable satellite-supported network worldwide to be above 12 thousand (Mann et al., 2022). Presently, the organization uses about two thousand such sky outposts and aims to grow the number to the point of providing reliable internet almost everywhere in the world (Mann et al., 2022). Consequently, Starlink’s success depends on the sending of more satellites to the sky, thus exposing the universe to myriads of unknown risks.
The world already enjoys the satellite internet package offered by SpaceX. In the U.S., SpaceX supports a consumer-targeted website where customers intending to access the product place orders. The platform requires clients to first provide their service address to confirm the network’s availability in the specific region. That is because not all the U.S. or world’s locations have Starlink’s coverage due to the project’s limited satellites currently in space (Mann et al., 2022).
Mann et al. (2022) provide the network’s standard speed to be between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s, with a significantly low latency of 20 milliseconds in most rural locations. Moreover, clients regularly pay an initial connection fee of about $600, together with a $50 one-time shipping cost and a monthly service rate of about $110 (Mann et al., 2022). America, Ukraine, and several other European and Asian states are examples of regions already experiencing Starlink’s signals, according to Wall (2019). Therefore, Starlink’s emergence and expansion promise connectivity solutions to most of the globe’s remote regions, making the invention essential.
Starlink exhibits both benefits and shortcomings, like any other human creation. The following discussion provides some of the invention’s benefits, which consist of internet provision in remote localities and the promotion of human’s creative nature. While its drawbacks include that, its dependence on large numbers of low-orbiting satellites causes significant disruption to multiple astronomical achievements, and it is a major source of orbital risk. Moreover, it poses a threat to the atmosphere, and its growth and dominance threaten investors.
Benefits
Connecting the World’s Remote Regions
Communication is a necessary facet among the contemporary generations worldwide. People’s need to connect through the internet and to operate globally further reiterates the essence of reliable worldwide internet signals. Despite these truths, many people in the world lack internet connectivity, including in the U.S. (Wall, 2019). Reliance on mobile networks and the hard-to-distribute Ethernet make the connectivity problem real. Consequently, the existence of inventions, such as Starlink, which promises rural areas coverage with high-speed internet, is highly beneficial. Accordingly, Starlink solves a major global communication challenge, making it highly essential.
Promoting Human’s Creativity
Humans face the obligation to make life better through inventions that resolve critical human-related concerns. But for technological creativity, Wall (2019) insists that contemporary people are struggling with hurting conditions, such as immobility and incurable diseases. Nonetheless, innovations in different fields prove people’s consciousness and determination to make the world a better place. Elon Musk’s inventions in emission-less electric cars and Starlink substantially motivate the world population to think further. His seemingly crazy thoughts are what people need to transform life, proving SpaceX’s present project’s essence.
Drawbacks
Starlink versus Astronomy
Starlink’s dependence on large numbers of low-orbiting satellites causes significant disruption to multiple astronomical achievements of the past and present. For example, Mann et al. (2022) report that SpaceX’s constellation’s shiny surfaces challenge many strategically positioned and crucial astronomical telescopes’ ability to deliver reliable images. The matter poses substantial concerns worth consideration. According to Siegel (2019), SpaceX’s current two thousand satellites already cause sensible adverse effects on the astronomy sector. Accordingly, launching all the anticipated satellites in the sky threatens to disrupt an essential field, thus risky.
A Major Source of Orbital Collision Risk
Launching thousands of satellites in the sky causes a major orbital collision risk. Since 2019, SpaceX has received significant criticism due to reported collision risks between the company’s satellites with those from other companies. The European Space Agency was the first to launch such claims after its satellite almost collided with that of SpaceX. Such concerns continue to grow with SpaceX’s blind move to increase the number (of satellites) while doing significantly nothing to curb the problem.
Effects on the Atmosphere
SpaceX plans to replace its satellites with newer technology every five years to promote continuous growth. The plan requires the firm to destroy all the existing satellites deemed outdated. Mann et al. (2022) note that space-borne objects’ destruction involves burning them air-borne. The aspect threatens to add large volumes of highly disastrous alumina deposits in the sky, leading to possible light pollution in the future (Siegel, 2019). Accordingly, alumina’s ozone layer depletion effect infers Starling’s escalation of climate change concerns.
Rebellious Monopoly Syndrome
Starlink’s rapid growth and dominance in the satellite internet provision indicate substantial drawbacks. The matter threatens the rise of unstoppable rebellious entities with the ability to use wealth and technological ingenuities to pursue individualistic missions without caring much about other humans. Musk is a rebellious billionaire with the dream to colonize Mars through space-staged advancements (Bloch, 2022). That is why the investor cares less about astronomers’ concerns about Starlink’s effects on the Earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, Starlink’s achievements, though beneficial, disproportionately develop Musk’s self-esteem to the point of making the narcissistic personality disorder a global order.
Conclusion
SpaceX features a future-generation innovation by the name Starlink, which uses satellite mega-constellation to offer boundless connectivity to the global population. The innovation is already operational in many parts of the globe, with SpaceX launching more satellites in space to make the product available worldwide. Accordingly, Starlink exhibits benefits and drawbacks. Providing connectivity to remotely located persons and promoting creativity are the two fundamental benefits of the project. However, Starlink causes orbit collision threats, makes the atmosphere unsafe, and promotes influential individuals’ narcissistic personality disorders, thus threatening the masses’ survival.
References
Bloch, E. (2022). The ethical implications of emerging technologies in warfare. Emerging Military Technologies 1(3), 23-32. Web.
Wall, M. (2019). How SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites could help humanity colonize mars. Space. Web.
Siegel, E. (2019). This is how Elon Musk can fix the damage his Starlink satellites are causing to Astronomy. Forbes. Web.
Mann, A., Pultarova, T., & Howell, E. (2022). SpaceX Starlink internet: Costs, collision risks and how it works. Space. Web.