Live data from Hacker News

Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

starlinkmap.org

101–110 of 248 posts

Re: Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

#101
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're not mutually exclusive as far as cost goes - quite the opposite (hence all the talk about "synergy" and "vertical integration" in enterprise spaces) - but you're right about consumer prices. I think what's keeping the consumer prices for Starlink down is that for the vast majority of its coverage it does have competition. Much like how it's in Tesla's best interests for the US not to invest in high-speed rail…

Im already seeing an impact. Rural wifi networks are being replaced by starlink, at least for those able to afford it. Starlink is certainly faster to setup and maintain, but remains far more expensive day to day than a rural wifi net. I have family on a rural network with solar-powered relays setup on islands. New retirees to the area are just buying starlink without even asking about the local net. So it is no long…

But is local option really cheap?

From my experience it is quite the opposite: they know you have nowhere else to go so you will buy their connection anyway.

Re: Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Would be cool if one day you could get your connectivity needs handled by a single company cheaply, almost anywhere in the world That sounds like an absolute distopian nightmare and the last person on earth that I want to be running this service is Elon Musk. In general I find it horrendous how a single american company can pollute the night sky for every human being in the world, whether they can use their service…

Have you seen them in orbit? I look at the sky regularly in a low light area and I've not seen any "pollution", but maybe I don't know how to look?

I was walking my dog a few months ago right after dusk and randomly saw the starlink train, it was a linear constellation marching across the entire sky, from horizon to horizon, and lasted at least 2 minutes.

It was both amazing and disturbing.

Re: Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

#105

Wow, I knew Starlink had an enormous constellation, but visualizing it like that really empathizes the scope. Would be cool if one day you could get your connectivity needs handled by a single company cheaply, almost anywhere in the world, without bothering about new contracts, moving cities or country borders.

> Would be cool if one day you could get your connectivity needs handled by a single company cheaply, almost anywhere in the world, without bothering about new contracts, moving cities or country borders.

AFAICT that's exactly what Starlink is trying to do. Their satellites are in a low enough orbit to provide sufficient bandwidth for light web browsing, and they certainly have enough satellites to provide reliable coverage (by satellite standards).

Thing is, satcom is still much more expensive, much slower, and much more power-hungry than what folks have gotten used to with broadband home internet, LTE, and 5G. I have the feeling that it will always be that way - it takes a lot more power to blast a signal into space than it does to send it to a tower down the street, or to the router in your living room. The section of the general population that is willing to make such huge tradeoffs in exchange for truly global coverage is quite small. Militaries and certain types of businesses love it, though.

Re: Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the 2nd statement of yours is a false dilemma: Starlink is increasing risks in space travel - a space rocket now needs (even more - otherwise it would be a false dilemma as well) maneuverability to stick to the planned path or avoid a satellite if the path changed, I don't think it's easy considering how rockets are propelled by continuous explosions, where an engine becoming disabled is somewhat normal… And…

> once all goes to hell and you have a chain reaction of destroyed satellites destroying other satellites - each next satellite moves the scenario towards a positive feedback loop There is no orbital solution in which this happens to any meaningful extent. Even worst-case scenarios of massive anti-satellite activity create localised messes that clear in a few months.

From Wikipedia[1]:

One implication is that the distribution of debris in orbit could render space activities and the use of satellites in specific orbital ranges difficult for many generations.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

Re: Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

#107

> not optimized for mobile use... is best enjoyed on a desktop > Please rotate your device to landscape for the optimal satellite viewing experience. Ummm...

They seem to be merely detecting the aspect ratio of the browser window, and their message is equating portrait to mobile, even on the desktop. When I made my desktop browser window wider than tall, it got past that imperfect check they're using.

Re: Real-time map of every Starlink satellite in orbit

#109
post #93
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So 100Mbps for ~16k people. Barely useful. I can only ever see it being useful for real rural people, who don't get any 4G signal, but these people might also not want to pay the crazy subscription fees or $500+ for the equipment. I don't see any reason why anyone living in or <100km near a city would ever want this. 5G mobile can already provide 500Mbps and fiber is just unbeatable. At least the night sky was ruined…

>I don't see any reason why anyone living in or Because not every country has widespread consumer-grade 5G and fiber-optic infrastructure set up? I swear some of you here live in a bubble and don't consider that there's an entire world much bigger than just your . I live in that kind of a country in the Balkan, and the overwhelming majority of people here get way less than 100mbs download speed in their homes, no mat…

Exactly, I am a happy starlink user, I live in a rural area around 70km from a nearest city and only options here are crappy 4G which can do 20 mbps on a good day and starlink which gives me up to 200 mbps download speeds. I highly doubt there will be faster 5G/whateverG here anytime in the future since the population in this area is so low and declining so starlink is pretty much only option here.
Post reply on HN