UNITED STATES: Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur, revealed on Monday that Starlink, his rocket company’s satellite Internet branch, is now operational on all continents, including Antarctica.
Musk said, “Starlink is now active on all continents, including Antarctica,” on Twitter.
After the corporation confirmed the deployment of 54 Starlink satellites, he added that “another batch with lasers reaches orbit.”
According to a recent estimate, approximately 1,000 people reside and work at McMurdo Station in Antarctica during the summer. The station has satellite internet, although it is unreliable in inclement weather.
The US Antarctic Programme reports that everyone currently has access to a 17 Mbps network. However, the assessment had stated that Starlink would improve internet connectivity, making it less inconsistent than it had previously been.
Netflix and video conversations are prohibited at the McMurdo Station, with the exception of once-weekly Skype or FaceTime sessions at a public kiosk or for mission-critical communications. Starlink has a range of 50–200 Mbps and so will improve the connectivity.
Recently, on Sunday night (Sept. 4), SpaceX launched a space tug and a significant number of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit, as well as a rocket that touched down on a ship at sea.
The Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida saw the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 51 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit.
Sherpa-LTC2, a space tug sponsored by the Seattle-based business Spaceflight, was also on board with Starlink Group 4-20.
According to sources, the tug is transporting a payload for Boeing’s proposed constellation of 147 non-geostationary broadband satellites, Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission (Varuna-TDM), which “aims to demonstrate V-band communications”.
The first Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle’s intended mission in January 2022 had to be cancelled by SpaceX due to a fuel leak.
Also Read: SpaceX Launches 51 Additional Starlink Satellites on Its 40th Mission
