The Starlink satellites are one of the most well known in the world.

There are over 3000 Starlink satellites in the sky. The main purpose of the satellites is to provide broadband internet to remote or underserved locations, but there are many other uses for the constellation already in use.

There are a lot of weird facts about Starlink that go under the radar, not the least of which is the impact the satellites have had on astronomy.

You need to know everything about Starlink satellites.

Cover of the 2012 novel

Cover of the 2012 novel "The Fault in our Stars" by John Green. (Image credit: Barnes and Noble)

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green is said to have inspired the name "Starlink". The name was inspired by The Fault in Our Stars, according to Musk.

Hazel Lancaster is a teenager who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Hazel and Augustus met at a cancer support group and fell in love. The novel shows that we have a choice of who we share emotional pain with.

The Starlink satellites are going to beam service to phones.

If anyone is curious, the name was inspired by The Fault in Our StarsFebruary 21, 2018

You can see more.

Starlink satellites prepare for deployment.

Starlink satellites prepare for deployment. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Starlink satellites are powered by the open-source operating system Linux.

In order to be a free, openly shared operating system that could be tailored for users' specific computer hardware, Linux was created in 1991.

Linux is ideal for Starlink satellites because it is easy to modify. Linux-based operating systems can take advantage of a worldwide repository of open-source programs and tools.

The price of Starlink has been raised due to inflation.

Starlink satellite in orbit.

Starlink satellite in orbit. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

The FAA approved the deployment of 7,500 Starlink 2.0. The second- generation Starlink satellites are larger and more capable than their predecessors.

The Starlink satellites weigh in at 573 lbs and 2,755 lbs, respectively, according to Musk.

The bigger Starlinks will eventually be lofted by the new Mars and moon rocket. There is still a lot of work to be done, but there is a plan to conduct an Orbital test soon.

Next-gen Starlink satellites are expected to be launched by the end of the month.

An illustration of a satellite constellation in orbit.

An illustration of a satellite constellation in orbit. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

At the 36th annual Space Symposium in 2021, Shotwell stated that all Starlink satellites would have laser crosslinks that would allow them to communicate with one another.

This allows Starlink satellites to share data with each other. Laser links allow internet traffic to be shared from satellite to satellite, avoiding the need to relay the signals to a ground-based internet network.

Starlink constellations can beam internet access to the most remote locations.

It was paused to give its internet satellites lasers.

An illustration of a SpaceX Dragon capsule landing on Mars.

An illustration of a SpaceX Dragon capsule landing on Mars. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The Starlink terms of service (opens in new tab) contain a section stating that in the event that SpaceX will reach Mars and establish service there, the company will have full independence from any government on Earth. "For Services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities," the Starlink terms of service read. "Accordingly, Disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement."

SpaceX has plans to place humans on the Red Planet by the end of the decade, according to comments made by company leadership. 

The president of the company predicts that humanity will go to Mars.

McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

McMurdo Station in Antarctica. (Image credit: Peter Rejcek, Antarctic Photo Library)

Some of the most remote parts of the world are home to Starlink internet service.

At the McMurdo Station, scientists with the USAP have tested. Scientists supported by the USAP are over the moon. Starlink is testing polar service with a newly deployed user terminal at McMurdo Station.

The first launch on the West Coast was in September of 2021.

The Starlink internet service reaches the farthest flung part of the world.

This long-exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX's Starlink satellites passing overhead.

A train of SpaceX's Starlink satellites seen in the sky above Istanbul. (Image credit: MARIANA SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images)

There are trains of satellites in the sky. Even though they have taken steps to make Starlink appear dimmer in the night sky, the satellites can still be very bright after they are released.

Local news stations get a lot of calls from startled skywatchers when these Starlink trains are mistaken for alien life forms.

The dark sky conditions needed for astronomy are in danger because of these reports. The UN was urged to take steps to protect the night sky.

The Starlink satellites are not aliens.

Starlink satellite in orbit.

A rendering of a Starlink satellite in orbit. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

While Starlink is most often discussed in regards to the broadband internet it beams to remote locations, the satellite constellation has other uses.

The United States military has eyed its own uses for Starlink, despite the fact that it has been used extensively by the Ukrainians. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force and SpaceX collaborated for a live-fire exercise in which Starlink satellites shared data with U.S. military assets that shot down a drone.

The United States military and associated agencies will only be served by the Starlink partner project called Star shield. Starshield will offer a higher level of security than Starlink, with additional high-assurance cryptographic capability to host classified payloads and process data securely, meeting the most demanding government requirements.

The 'Star shield' satellite project is for national security.

Starlink satellites in orbit.

Starlink satellites in orbit. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

In the past few years, there have been requests to use Starlink as a position, navigation, and timing service, but Musk has so far refused to do so.

A group of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found a way to reverse engineer Starlink signals in October of 2022. The repeating beacon signals from Starlink constellations could be used to create a navigation system.

The MIT Technology Review states that the framework is so general we can apply it to any signal. It will learn on the fly and let you know where you are.

Russia is ramping up cyberattacks on the Starlink systems in Ukrainian.

Frame from a 35mm film of the starfish Prime Nuclear test.

Frame from a 35mm film of the Starfish Prime nuclear test, during which a 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead was detonated at an altitude of 250 miles (400 km). (Image credit: Public domain/DoD)

Many of the United States' peer rivals have concerns about the constellations because of the increasing use of Starlink satellites.

The Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, a research institute run by the People's Liberation Army, published a paper discussing ways to destroy or disabling Starlink. They have a solution. Someone is detonating a nuclear weapon.

According to the South China Morning Post, the researchers suggested that a 10-megaton nuclear explosion would be powerful enough to cause failures of satellites.

There is a plan to destroy the Starlink satellites.

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