Elon Musk just sent the first tweet using theStarlink satellite .- He posted ‘Whoa, it worked,’ on Twitter.
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Starlink satellite constellation plans to provide internet to the rest of the world — even the underserved areas.
The massive network of satellites, commonly referred to as a constellation, aims to provide seamless internet to the entire world — even those areas, which are currently underserved.
And it won’t be expensive. According to the company, Starlink’s internet will be a low-cost, high-performance solution for space-based internet communication.
Satellite starlight
So far, SpaceX has launched 62 of its planned 12,000 satellite constellation. With every launch, the company plans to put another 60 satellites in space.
The total number of satellites required for the network is also set to increase. SpaceX has filed for permission to launch another 30,000 satellites in order to complete the Starlink project — bringing the total number of satellites up to 42,000.
The cost for the Starlink satellite constellation was estimated around $10 billion in May 2018 and has probably increased with the additional request for satellites.
Astronomers are concerned that the sheer number of satellites that Musk plans to put in the sky will block the line of sight for a lot of on ground telescopes and congest the skies.