Is StarLink from SpaceX the future of the Internet?

[Jet Cash]

SpaceX has developed its own rocket launcher, and it can put satellites into orbit at a lower cost than anyone else at the moment. It is planned to have up to 30,000 satellites in orbit in the not too distant future. This will provide Internet communications that are cheaper and faster than 5G. But what will the environmental cost be? The satellites have a planned life of around 5 years, and after this, they reenter the atmosphere and burn up. Nobody seems to consider the pollution and environmental impact of this, especially as other organisations such as Amazon are planning to create similar systems. How will this affect astronomy with so much debris floating around up there?

HyperChange discusses some of these topics in this video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VZ6asRa_mY

[jackg]

I don't even think they need that many. I don't think there are many sonass satellites for example and there are only 6 outernet satellites.


You can argue that using less satellites would decrease bandwidth but they could still just have more output devices.

Also, does the American government have any involvement in spacex? These satellites could be used for more advanced tracking purposes and not to mention the microwave radiation will likely cause issues with heating up the atmosphere from the microwave radiation if enough hit at one spot...

I don't think we've found a way to make solar panels out of anything but plastic which is obviously going to be a detriment to the oceans if it just falls out of the sky and burns up into microplastic (much like how you can't destroy a hard drive in a closed garage due to the fumes).

[Jet Cash]

I think they want to build up to that volume over the next few years. As the older satellites start to self-destruct, then the newer ones can take over. I suspect he wants to prove that he is faster, cheaper and safer than 5G as well. I wonder if 5G will survive if it starts to create health problems.