Marco Langbroek
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 17:24
Julius Moorman
economics editor
Julius Moorman
economics editor
Access to high-speed internet. In the Netherlands we have not been surprised by this for a long time. Yet it is this service with which Elon Musk has started a global satellite race.
With his Starlink internet system, Musk has made himself indispensable to people in remote areas, places affected by natural disasters and in times of war, especially Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Major powers such as Europe, China and Russia feel the urgency and are now working on getting similar systems in the air.
The number of satellites is expected to increase explosively in the coming years. A development that astronomers and space experts view with dismay.
Starlink dominates the world stage
Launched in 2019, Starlink is part of space company SpaceX and offers high-speed internet everywhere in the world. That speed is achieved because the so-called low earth orbit-satellites (LEO satellites) only fly 550 kilometers above the Earth, a lot lower than satellites from traditional providers.
The company now has more than two million active users. Starlink is available on all seven continents in more than 60 countries. Turnover this year is expected to be just under $3 billion estimateda doubling compared to last year.
While competitors are still in their early stages, Starlink dominates the world stage with approximately 5,000 active Leo satellites. And that dominance comes with a lot of power.
“A New World”
For example, Ukrainian soldiers are using Starlink in the war with Russia, although Musk was obstructive last year, according to a recently published biography. He is said to have stopped a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian ship near occupied Crimea. Fearing nuclear reprisals from Putin, he is said to have temporarily turned off the Starlink system to thwart the attack.
Musk later stated that SpaceX had not deactivated anything and that, contrary to what the biography claimed, there was no Starlink service in Crimea at all. Instead, he said Ukraine asked him to provide cover, which he refused.
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“Regardless of exactly what happened, normally the people who make these decisions are democratically elected, or they are accountable to someone who is,” says Maaike Okano-Heijmans. She is an expert in the field of geopolitics and technology at the Clingendael Institute.
Speaking about Musk, she says: “It’s not even about a powerful company anymore, but really about one person: “That is by definition not a good idea.”
Major powers and competitors have not escaped Musk’s influence. Europe, for example, is working on one own system which should be operational in 2028. China has banned Starlink and therefore wants to own satellites into low Earth orbit and is also Russia working on it.
In addition, a number of commercial parties are joining the battle, such as: Project Kuiper from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Canadian Telesat and the British OneWeb.
There are scenarios where the total number of Leo satellites by the end of this decade will be approx 100.000 amounts to. This puts an end to Musk’s practical dominance. However, that independence comes at a price.
Orbital overload
According to experts, a crowded space at an altitude of 550 kilometers brings a range of problems. Astronomer Ignas Snellen of Leiden University points out that astronomical observations are disturbed by the sunlight that the satellites reflect and the radio waves they radiate. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to plan around it.”
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Marco Langbroek, space expert at TU Delft, further says that it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose a safe launch moment. According to him, the great danger lies in the fact that we will no longer be able to track the exact location of so many individual satellites.
He points to the Kessler syndrome: the more space debris, the greater the chance of collisions, which creates more debris and sets off a chain reaction. “You don’t want that because it’s difficult to clean up.”
Then there are also decommissioned satellites that fall back to Earth. In principle, they burn ‘cleanly’ in the atmosphere, but their effects on the environment are not yet clear, says Langbroek. One recently appeared rapport which shows that as a result, more and more iron particles are found in the upper atmosphere.
Finally, there is the starry sky. It belongs to everyone and plays an important role in different cultures. “If we don’t do anything, you will soon only see satellites passing by,” says Snellen. Together with Langbroek and Okano-Heijmans, he therefore advocates regulation to limit the expected proliferation and to manage the increase in the number of satellites.
2023-11-26 16:24:56
#Satellite #race #Starlink #lead #crowded #space
