Definition: Starlink

A satellite-based Internet service from the SpaceX aerospace company. Announced in 2015, in October 2021, a nationwide rollout began. Today, Starlink has more than 5,000 satellites in orbit and more than two million subscribers. SpaceX service goes beyond stationary residences and serves moving vehicles, ships and aircraft.

Downlink speed ranges from 25 to more than 200 Mbps. Fees in most locations are $120 per month with upfront starting at $599 for the antenna and Wi-Fi router.

Getting Ready for Mars
Starlink is also expected to eventually provide Internet access to Mars. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, wants to colonize Mars in the future with hopes that a million people will eventually live there to continue civilization in case war wipes out this planet. Needless to say... stay tuned! See satellite Internet and LEO.

Starlink's Real-Time Laser Backbone

Some 9,000 lasers beam Internet traffic between satellites and provide a mesh network that transmits some 42 petabyes of daily data. More than a quarter million laser connections are formed every day in real time. (Image courtesy of SpaceX.)