Why Elon Musk is Really Building Starlink

Your internet isn't in space. It's in the ocean. But that might change, and here's why.
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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:

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?

I tell different stories in different places:

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:

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed

#Starlink #Space #Internet

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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 ;)

[CleoAbram]

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 🥴

[IzHarris]

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.

[blissweb]

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. 👍

[johnshields]

Watching this from Zambia, on a new Starlink. Just a massive, massive difference

[edrose]

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

[katarinamarinkovic]

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!

[SecondLifeDesigner]

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.

[bigl]

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

[theinterstellarfeller]

As an avid fan of your content AND an astrophotographer, thank you for mentioning one of the downsides of Starlink! Greatly appreciated.

[irishguy]

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! 😃

[ToryBohn]

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.

[Icefrostmiguel]

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!

[KILLERTX]

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"

[robertallenmcdowell]

I've had Starlink for months and it's awesome!! It replaced my rural 12Mb DSL with a 285Mb internet firehose connection that handles 10 devices effortlessly. We stream everything with no data caps. Elon is my Hero.

[moi]

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.

[PatMunz]

Over the last year the monthly cost for my Starlink has dropped from 100€ to 80€ to now only 65€. This is nearly equal to the cost of my local provider but with 10 times the speed.

[AkashKanodia]

I love how Cleo puts everything in her head all together in an organised, bitable and fun-to-learn videos! 😄

[KreatorX]

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 :)

[cinto]

Hi, I just stumbled upon your video on egg freezing and thought to check out your other videos. Absolutely, mindblowing and eye-opening video this one is. Thanks for sharing! Btw, your passion shines through the screen. Love it, lady!

[tylerpalmer]

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!