A more crowded heaven

As you read this there are about 2,000 satellites orbiting above our heads, and apart from an occasional glimpse in the night sky, they're pretty much invisible. But they have become a huge part of everyday life on Earth. Satellite-based, of course. These days, the view from orbit is so ubiquit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Technology review (1998) 2019-07, Vol.122 (4), p.30-31
Main Authors: Ryan-Mosley, Tate, Winick, Erin, Kakaes, Konstantin
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinton, Bill
Earth
Internet access
Launching
Meteorological satellites
Night sky
Satellite constellations
Satellites
Small satellites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:As you read this there are about 2,000 satellites orbiting above our heads, and apart from an occasional glimpse in the night sky, they're pretty much invisible. But they have become a huge part of everyday life on Earth. Satellite-based, of course. These days, the view from orbit is so ubiquitous that most of us have probably forgotten a time when it wasn't part of our perspective. Over the next few years, there's going to be even more hustle and bustle in orbit. By 2025 as many as 1,100 satellites could be launching each year--up from 365 in 2018. Just one project, SpaceX's ambitious Starlink, aims to fly 12,000 small satellites by 2027. It and similar projects aren't just crowding the skies--they're delivering a host of technological upgrades meant to improve life planetside.
ISSN:1099-274X
2158-9186