After a race with OneWeb to cover the Arctic and areas near the Arctic, SpaceX has moved in a different direction. The US National Science Foundation (or NSF) is testing one of its Starlink terminals at the McMurdo Station in the South. NSF says increased bandwidth will help scientists work on the remote continent near the South, The Verge reported
According to NSF, McMurdo, the busiest research station in the South, with more than 1,000 people living and working throughout the summer, currently has satellite internet but the quality of connectivity is not high. Researchers at the base had to share a 17- Mbps link, according to the US Arctic Program.
This seriously limits what they can do. For the same reason, the research station must block the use of high-end applications such as Netflix, cloud Backup and video calls, except for skype or FaceTime once a week at public kiosks or important communications.
The addition of Starlink connection does not mean they have enough bandwidth for entertainment apps like Netflix. However, it could make it easier to move important scientific data out of the ice continent.
NSF spokesperson Mike England said he could not comment further on exactly what the satellite internet system would be used for, as it is currently in the testing phase.
SpaceX has retaken the NSF post, saying that Starlink is now present on all seven continents and that it is capable of operating in remote places like the Arctic thanks to starlinks space laser network.
Although Starlink has definitely reached another continent, looking at the map of the system's availability, you can see that the service is not really available in Africa or Asia.
The company plans to deploy the service in at least two countries on each continent by the end of the year Nigeria, Mozambique, Japan and the Philippines and their satellites could be capable of providing the service there right now, but at this time, it is in all seven continents but cannot be used yet.
laser is part of the factor that makes Starlink's wide coverage possible. Previously, if you wanted to use the Starlink satellite internet system, you had to have a SpaceX ground clearance station within a few hundred miles. While the satellite's job is still to connect Starlink terminals to ground stations, SpaceX has made the system more flexible by allowing satellites to communicate with each other to expand their range of activities.
In addition, SpaceX also faces legal issues: applying for an operating license in the countries they cover. This alone has forced the company to work with hundreds of different management agencies, a huge amount of work.
However, if the experiment in the South Poles goes well, it could help prove that SpaceX has at least enough technology to cover even the most remote areas, opening up the future Elon Musk is looking forward to.
