SpaceX already started to offer Starlink satellite broadband internet in the northern United States and southern Canada for $99 USD per month. Customers receive high-speed internet from the constellation of satellites in orbit via a dish terminal nicknamed "Dishy McFlatface". The dish, alongside a mounting tripod and Wi-Fi router is priced at $499 USD. Starlink customers will be supporting SpaceX's ultimate mission to make life multiplanetary. Starlink will provide additional funding towards building a fleet of Starships that will embark on a voyage to the Red Planet. Submit your e-mail via Starlink.com if you would like to receive updates about when the service will be available in your area.
This week, early Starlink customers shared SpaceX's rules and guidelines for using the broadband network. A section of Starlink's 'Terms of Service' states SpaceX plans to provide internet aboard the Starship launch vehicles and on Mars. This was mentioned in a section titled - "Governing Law". The terms read: "For Services provided to, on, or in orbit around the planet Earth or the Moon, these Terms and any disputes between us arising out of or related to these Terms, including disputes regarding arbitrability (“Disputes”) will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California in the United States," the company states, --"For Services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonization spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, Disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement," SpaceX wrote.
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— bill lee 💣🏴☠️ (@westcoastbill) October 29, 2020
The founder of SpaceX Elon Musk said in August Mars will be governed with a "Direct democracy. Short, comprehensible laws voted on directly by the people," he wrote via Twitter. During the 2020 Mars Society Convention he shared that a variation of the Starlink network could be set up to beam internet to the Martian surface. --"...You just need a big laser coming from Earth," he said, "Probably want it to be in orbit so it doesn't get atmospheric diffraction or attenuation. You want to go from a big laser from Earth orbit to Mars orbit and then you're going to need some relay stations for when Mars is on the other side of the Sun. So, you can't just shoot a laser through the sun," Musk explained.
Direct democracy. Short, comprehensible laws voted on directly by the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2020
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The President of SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell shared in a recent interview with Time Magazine, the reasons why SpaceX is creating the Starlink network. One of the reasons is to maintain communication with a future Mars colony. "Once we take people to Mars, they are going to need a capability to communicate," she told reporters, "In fact, I think it will be even more critical to have a constellation like Starlink around Mars. And then, of course, you need to connect the two planets as well."
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
