Starlink Used by WA State’s Military

SpaceX accelerated beta testing of Starlink’s internet service with the tough requirements of a military emergency management division

1. What is Starlink…

The divisive, disruptive, and wildly successful entrepreneur Elon Musk has begun building his global broadband satellite internet, Starlink. He is currently in the early stages of building a vast constellation of very low-earth orbit (VLEO) satellites. The constellation may consist of up to 42,000 small satellites, according to recent FCC filings, in orbits that range from 328 (below the International Space Station) to 1,200 kilometers in altitude.

I wrote about the brief history of Starlink a month ago, so for more information about the company, check it out in the link below.

Although Musk and Starlink are still years away from building out the whole Starlink constellation, there are enough satellites in orbit to provide service in certain locales, and for emergency purposes.

That is exactly what is going on now.

2. What is Starlink doing…

Starlink provided free satellite terminals and internet service to Washington state as part of a private beta test. SpaceX will roll out a public beta test once this current private assessment is completed.

The beta test coverage will gradually expand as the constellation builds up. SpaceX said they are building about 120 satellites per month, and Falcon 9 capacity is about 60 Starlink satellites per standard launch. As of September, 2020, Starlink had almost 800 satellites in orbit.

Washington state’s emergency response personnel used Starlink to bring internet service to hard-hit regions during their August wildfires.

One of Starlink’s major engineering initiatives was to make sure that users are able to quickly, easily, and cheaply set up the user terminals in order to send and receive satellite internet data. According to Richard Hall who heads the Washington State Military IT emergency telecommunications division, Starlink’s setup was far easier and more reliable than any other system in his experience.

One small town, Malden, Washington, was hit by fires that began around Labor Day and destroyed about 80% of the town’s buildings. They received SpaceX terminals set up by the Washington Emergency Management Department (WA EMD). The WA EMD tweeted out their appreciation to SpaceX as they helped Malden residents get back on their feet:

“Happy to have the support of ‪@SpaceX’s Starlink internet as emergency responders look to help residents rebuild the town of Malden, WA that was overcome by wildfires earlier this month. ‪#wawildfire” — WA EMD on Twitter

Musk responded to the WA EMD with a tweet of his own saying SpaceX would “prioritize emergency responders and locations with no Internet connectivity at all.”

Specific uses of Starlink included using the terminals to coordinate water drops onto fires, requesting additional support, resources, and supplies from WA EM.

The WA EMD has plans in place for several even larger disasters including a massive earthquake from the nearby Cascadia Subduction Zone, which they project could leave the region without power for weeks.

A spokesman for WA EMD said about Starlink, “This is a device we could definitely utilize should we have more wildfires or even larger disasters”.

3. Other military partnerships…

The U.S. Army, in the meantime, is considering Starlink as an inexpensive alternative to GPS. Two of the lower Starlink orbits will be at 328 and 550 kilometers, compared to GPS satellites which orbit at 20,000 kilometers.

The shorter Starlink distance compared to GPS has numerous advantages for the military including:

· 40 times shorter latency time

· 1000 times stronger signal

· Resistance to signal attacks such as spoofing or jamming

· 10 times more precise location

· Resistance to interference

In addition, Starlink can provide 100 megabits per second of data transmission, compared to GPS with less than 100 bits per second.

Meanwhile, the Air Force was also impressed with Starlink during a live-fire exercise to test its Advanced Battle Management System designed to coordinate air, sea, land and space assets. Investors Business Daily reports that Air Force acquisition chief William Roper was impressed with Starlink. Roper said that Starlink connected various air and land assets during their live-fire test including a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and a Lockheed Martin AC-130 gunship.

4. What it means for us…

The fundamental purpose of Starlink is to provide low-cost high-speed broadband internet to all locations around the globe, but especially to areas and to people currently lacking such access. That is why these private beta tests are so important — to verify Starlink’s ability to deliver in internet-poor areas under the most critical times such as during emergencies.

If you live in such areas, you will benefit directly.

If we don’t directly benefit from Starlink services, we all still benefit as people around the world connect online and look for products and services and content not currently available to them.

My first Starlink article alluded to the cliché of a rising tide lifting all boats, referring to Musk’s motivation to expand internet access. We all benefit when everyone has access to basic infrastructures such as internet.

And finally, Musk mentioned that when Starlink revenues become stable and predictable, he plans to hold an Initial Public Offering (IPO), in which retail investors are prioritized as opposed to the institutional investors who usually benefit from IPOs (if you are reading this, you probably qualify as a retail investor, the average Joe, supposedly the “dumb money” according to professional and institutional investors).

5. Disclosure…

I am a happy owner of almost the oldest possible used Tesla Model S, and am also happily invested in Tesla the company. And hoping to invest in SpaceX or Starlink.

You may also like my recent review of Netflix and their culture here:

And again, the previous Starlink historical review is here:

And a totally wacky short story gratuitously referencing SpaceX that I know you will love is here:

Thank you for reading and please share!