SpaceX has made a number of headlines this year, but one of their most important advances is that of Starlink, their satellite internet service that can provide remote people with high-speed internet.
The company now has just 1,000 satellites in low orbit to help the earth connect to places across Canada and North America. These satellites work by connecting to “earth stations” that can receive the satellite signals and channel the broadband internet to homes or businesses via a fiber optic cable.
As SpaceX expands its capacity for more and more customers and geographic areas, it needs to build more ground stations to collect the Starlink signals. But what do these earth stations look like? Reddit user ‘andrew867’ came across one in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and took photos to share with the world.
Ground stations are an important building block for the Starlink network, which connects the satellite system to the backbone of the Internet.
Reddit user andrew867 noted in his post that “Eastlink has direct access to the only viable dark fiber / wavelength service coming from Nova Scotia in the province. Zayo, Rogers and the government of NL all have access to strings, but since Eastlink has sites in Nova Scotia, it made sense to along with I will not doubt that Starlink will set up more uplinks throughout the province to improve coverage from the existing fiber route. ‘
RELATED: SPACEX SUCCESSFUL PLACE 60 STARLINK SATELLITE
This is all interesting insight into how SpaceX is undergoing the expansion of their Starlink system, and utilizing existing providers to make their services further available.
A poster at the bottom of one of the domes reads:
“Property of SpaceX. Prototype – Not for sale or rent This unit is for demonstration purposes only. This prototype unit may not comply with European Union regulations. It’s for technical evaluation only. This device is not authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not offered, and may not be bought or leased, or sold or leased until authorization has been obtained. Therefore, ownership must remain with SpaceX. ‘
In the image below you can see the SpaceX ID (SPXID) at the bottom of the dome.
SpaceX continues to expand ground stations as it receives more approvals from regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada.