Why Elon Musk is Really Building Starlink
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Published 2022-03-08
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Elon Musk tweeted that Starlink satellite internet service is now available in Ukraine. What does that really mean? Why is it important? And if it’s a big new thing that the internet is in space then… where was it before? In this video, I dive deep into how your internet gets to you right now, why Elon Musk wants to put it in space, and why it all matters.
We’re in the middle of the Internet Space Race. It’s not just Elon with Starlink and SpaceX, it's also Jeff Bezos with Project Kuiper… oh and don’t forget Richard Branson with OneWeb. Why do all these billionaires want to put your internet in space? So much so that they’re willing to put millions of dollars on the line, weather geomagnetic storms, and launch thousands of satellites into orbit, all in an attempt to change the way millions of people get their (your!) internet.
But this is more than just a fight between billionaires. It’s a fight for the future of the internet. It’s an effort to get connected the billions of people who still, in 2022, don’t have access to high speed internet - or can’t afford the cost given the way it’s being provided today.
This is a story about ambition, connection, and a WHOLE LOT of crazy cool engineering.
I show 3 maps in this video that you might enjoy exploring for yourself:
- Submarine cable map: www.submarinecablemap.com/
- Share of the population using the internet: ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-individuals-us…
- Starlink satellite map: satellitemap.space/
Chapters:
00:00 The Internet Space Race has begun
01:15 How does the internet work?
05:03 Why put the internet in space?
10:37 How does Starlink work?
Be featured in an episode - upload questions for me to answer: www.dropbox.com/request/Edocsb2kErpueQ7F9T1Q
I tell different stories in different places:
You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: www.instagram.com/cleoabram
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: twitter.com/cleoabram
Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated video producer and journalist. Cleo produces detailed explainer stories about technology and economics. She wrote the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained, was the host and a senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, as well as a host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. She now makes her own independent show, Huge If True. Each episode takes on one big technology innovation or idea, explains what it is, and helps people imagine the ways it could improve the world we live in by answering one simple question: If this works, what could go right?
Sources I read/watched for this video and think you might enjoy:
- “Why SpaceX is Making Starlink,” Real Engineering • Why SpaceX is Making Starlink
- “Gaming on STARLINK!!” Linus Tech Tips • Gaming on STARLINK!!
- “What Elon Musk's 42,000 Satellites Could Do To Earth,” Tech Insider • What Elon Musk's 42,000 Satellites Co...
- “Why Starlink is crucial for SpaceX’s success,” CNBC • Why Starlink Is Crucial To SpaceX’s S...
- “Starlink explained - why SpaceX needs 42,000 satellites,” Undecided with Matt Ferrell • Starlink explained - why SpaceX needs...
- “It’s time for a new approach for mapping broadband data to better serve Americans,” Microsoft blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2019/04/08/its-t…
- “Broadband for all: charting a path to economic growth,” Deloitte www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Document…
Vox: www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/
Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro
Music: Musicbed
Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1
#Starlink #Space #Internet
—
Welcome to the joke down low (an idea 100% in reference to Answer In Progress’ awesome “joke below the fold” - I always scroll down to see them and always wanted to do this myself too):
How do trees access the internet?
They log in.
Find a way to use the word “log” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one ;)
All Comments (21)
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oh god. "Daddy Bezos" is a meme! I thought I was all cool with a reference, and wow am I not cool. got it, no more of that 🥴
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I strongly endorse the cat internet concept. This was so good cleo, your excitement comes through and it makes it SO fun to learn alongside you.
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As a tech nerd, this is a really important video for everyone in the world to see. ps. I hope my 5 year old daughter grows up to be as smart, articulate and curious as you. You're such an inspiration for the next generation. Don't ever stop making these videos. 👍
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I'm genuinely impressed with your technical knowledge and how you're able to explain it in such an easy to understand way. So many journalists either can't or don't take the time to understand these things, and as a technical person I can usually pick holes in their explaination. You got this all spot on
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Watching this from Zambia, on a new Starlink. Just a massive, massive difference
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The fact that you literally give a free lecture on such topics like this one is incredible. Thank you so much for your research, your content and presentation. So many people can benefit from this and might even start doing some research on their own. You rock Cleo!
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The problem with Starlink and other space based internet systems is in order to get latency down to an acceptable level you have to have your satellites in low Earth orbit. Low Earth orbit means these satellites will have a very short life expectancy of just a few years as their orbits decay and they burn up or crash back to Earth. The means you must replace tens of thousands of satellites every few years to keep it up and running. Undersea cables last a minimum of 25 years.
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One of those geek types here, just wanted to compliment you on your ability to make the fundamentals grock-friendly to lay people. Over my 40 year career I learned to explain how an X-ray is created or how an MRI works in a manner that a 10 year old can understand, and that’s a completely separate skill set from the geekdom itself!! Good job, and I learned a few things from you here myself…thanks! Subscribed
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As an avid fan of your content AND an astrophotographer, thank you for mentioning one of the downsides of Starlink! Greatly appreciated.
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I absolutely loved this video. I'm getting an actual internet connection after 3 years (moving away from mom and dad's for the first time post college). Internet infrastructure is such a huge talking point for the rural community I've been living in. This video hit the nail on the head. Cool video Cleo! 😃
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not me watching this while connected to my starlink 😭 hello from australia <3
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Cleo, awesome video(s)! Love your enthusiasm, research, and production! I actually worked on cable ships for years and it is great to see some cool video about how it all fits together! Thank you!
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I love how Cleo puts everything in her head all together in an organised, bitable and fun-to-learn videos! 😄
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Cleo: "internet is a marvel of human ingenuity" Me (former network engineer for multiple ISPs): "the internet is a marvel of duct tape and wd40 on the levels of Macgyver and the formation of English language as a whole"
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That cat drawing almost made me cry. Humans are am. The joy you bring to learning echoes my own which I find so rarely and it is so beautiful to see shining out in the wilds of YouTube. Thank you for researching creating and thanks to your team. Please keep up the fantastic work.
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I haven't bought starlink. But when my family threatened our internet provider that we would change to starlink because fibre was not available, they proceeded to install fiber in our location. It has already made an impact!
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Cleo, you're truly gifted, and you obviously work very hard (production value and presentation: off the charts). I'm amazed that your great lessons don't have millions of views.
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I love how ~10 min of the video was focused on building up, by showing the existing infra - this is what makes this video (and the channel!) different from other videos that are just “this would be so cool” speculations, with little to gain from them, until the thing actually happens. This video, on the other hand, taught me quite a bit in a span of ~10 min (that I didn’t appreciate before, for sure) before going on to making fact-based predictions. Love the editing choice here. Thanks, Cleo :)
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I don't know how this happened, but I've only recently stumbled across this channel. Like, within the last few days. I absolutely love it. Love how accessible you make the nerdy stuff I enjoy to consume!
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i watched this via Starlink which i've been using for the better part of 2 years, and it's comparible to most peoples fiber in speed and stability. Customer since May 2021. As a Software Engineer it was a life saver when my work switched to full time work from home during the pandemic, and i was previously relying on hughesnet and a shoddy hotspot. Thanks to all of this the ground based providers, which can still provide it with faster speeds and cheaper are getting around to running cable, finally.
