Elon Musk may like to imagine that he is the one and only Emperor of Mars , but the reality is that he is just the king of low-Earth orbit. Musk owns more than 50% of all satellites actively orbiting the planet, so there’s no discussion about this fact. This apparent savior of humanity now wields an unchecked power, one that he doesn’t hesitate to use for his benefit and to the detriment of others . But to really see what this actually means to all of us humans, to truly appreciate the reach of his invasion of our space for his own interest, you must look at this real-time Starlink satellite map. See the real-time map here . [Screenshot: starlinkmap.org] Created by Will DePue —who works in video generation at OpenAI—the user interface is striking. The main visual is an ominous map of moving red dots that show where Musk’s 5,601 satellites and counting are at any given time. [Screenshot: John Wells/ YouTube ] Starlink’s constellation has been consistently growing over the past five years. In 2019 it reached 120 satellites. In 2020 it grew to 960. In 2021 it reached 1,920 satellites. In 2022, 3,840. And in 2023, it grew to the current 5,601 operational satellites that blanket Earth, including Antarctica and the North Pole. SpaceX has sought approval from the Federal Communications Commission and international bodies for up to 42,000 Starlink satellites. The figure is a crazy increase from the company’s initial filings, which proposed around 12,000 satellites. More Musk space invaders In 2023, the Boca Chica, Texas-based company ramped up deployment of its second-generation Starlink satellites, known as “V2 Minis,” starting with 21 units on February 27 of that year. These satellites are designed to enhance the capacity and speed of the Starlink network thanks to more powerful antennas capable of handling other frequencies, offering four times the capacity of the first-generation satellites . SpaceX is planning even larger satellites, ones that are so large they can only fit in the largest rocket ever built—the company’s own Starship. According to an email sent by Musk himself , they are crucial for the survivability of the company. So much, in fact, that the company tested part of its Starlink V2 delivery system in the third test launch of Starship. The system looks similar to a mail slot that opens in space to spit out the satellites, very much like a Pez dispenser . Musk is not alone in this race to take over low-Earth orbit (LEO), although he’s certainly way ahead of any other player. China has two plans to go against Starlink: the 13,000-satellite Guowang network and the G60 Starlink project, which plans to deploy 12,000 satellites. The beleaguered aerospace company Boeing just got approval to deploy 147 satellites to compete directly with Musk’s network, with plans to operate satellites in the V-band frequency, similar to Starlink’s next batch of satellites. There’s also OneWeb, which now has 618 satellites in orbit . Astra Space has proposed deploying a constellation of more than 13,600 satellites, seeking FCC approval for global broadband internet service. And, of course, there is Jeff Bezos and his Project Kuiper, which includes a constellation of 3,236 satellites; it has already launched its first two prototype satellites, with the goal of starting service for its earliest customers by the end of 2024. Death to the night sky These companies appear oblivious to how thoroughly they are ruining the night sky . And for what? Providing Wi-Fi access in remote locations doesn’t hold much water; we simply do not need 100,000 LEO satellites to connect five farms in Montana to the internet. There are other more reasonable options for that , like aerial laser connections and even high-altitude drones. Add to that the very real risk of collisions , not to mention space debris that poses a threat to manned missions and to the more important satellites that monitor Earth’s weather or agricultural crops. Musk and his cohort dismiss the risks saying that space is a very big place. Indeed, it is. And yes, the visualization created by DePue shows dots that are not up to scale with the size of the Earth. But it’s also true that there is a constantly increasing risk of a catastrophic event thanks to this ever-expanding network. Experts from the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report clearly stated in 2022 that this staggering expansion necessitates new regulations on the use of space to prevent conflicts and ensure the safety of space operations. Consider this question: Do we want this Starlink visualization to become a solid red Death Star for the sole private economical benefit of Musk and others? Especially when it comes at the risk of destroying our future as interplanetary species? If your answer is yes, I would have to refer you to Yoda’s famous words to Luke Skywalker: “ TFSU .”
