The Flying Connection or Elon Musk

How does Starlink Satellite Internet Work? [Video]

Video uploaded by Branch Education on August 19, 2022

The Flying Connection or Elon Musk Is at It Again

Due to a lot of various circumstances (sadly, not all of them good, but then again, sometimes a silver lining can come out of rather dark clouds) there are few of us left by now who haven’t yet heard about Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet satellites. And yes, they have really earned their popularity: one might really think they can do pretty much anything, as far as wireless communications are concerned.

But, as it turns out, “anything” was, after all, a bit of an overstatement – until now, at least – if only because in the past even these futuristic spacecraft certainly couldn’t achieve what they have just promised to give their customers. Yet, as they say, that was then and this is… well, let’s just say, very soon. According to SpaceX’s latest statement, the company’s satellites are about to boast something no Starlink (or any other Air-to-Ground technology, for that matter) was able to offer before: something called the Starlink Aviation. Or, speaking in plain English, the stable, reliable, fully functional in-flight connectivity… which is also broadband to boot, as opposed to every existing offer on this market, even those by the most major players.

SpaceX signs Hawaiian Airlines for free Starlink Wi-Fi on flights.

Now granted, it’s not like passengers of any flight are going to enjoy this luxury (at least, not at first). So far, the plans appear to be limited only to business aircraft and several specific airlines (JSX and Hawaiian Airlines among them). But, as we all know, the start is key, and it’s hard to deny that the fact itself is quite a breakthrough. The announced low-delay connection at the height of over 10 km, with the speeds reaching 350 mps – throughout the entire flight, from departure to arrival, at that – is, to put it mildly, nothing to sneeze at. Flying and streaming at the same time, for starters, will definitely change the face of travel blogging (or rather, travel vlogging). And then there are such things as unbroken real-time communications – for flyers and the crew alike – VPN use and connecting from several devices at once. That’s how much “sky is no limit” fun (gaming included) and quite serious usefulness (such as important updates re: conditions at the destination point, for instance) are going to be provided by a seemingly modest equipment set, consisting of power source, couple of access points, harnesses and, of course, the Aero Terminal (well, apparently not so modest, at the end of the day).

And all that, if we are to believe the man himself, the Mighty Musk, awaits us as soon as the next year when the SpaceX plans to begin shipping the goods. So, it appears, this is one more time when Elon Musk will give this admittedly overused and yet ever-timely metaphor of “flying high” yet another new meaning. Which was, if you think of it, only to be expected: the Web of Musk already covers the Earth and the sea. The sky (where he also plans to go global) is just the next logical step.