Starlink ready for August intro?
June 28, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Elon Musk, writing on Twitter on June 25th, said that all 72 orbital planes – that is the route his Starlink satellites take when circling the planet – will be active in August. He added that global coverage will then be activated except for the polar regions which will take a further six months.
This is a major achievement for Starlink. However, there’s no doubting the many would-be subscribers patiently waiting for service to reach them and many complaints from potential users who signed up some six months ago and are still waiting for connectivity.
Adding to the prospects of an imminent service start were comments made by SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell on June 25th when she said that in six weeks from now we will have full continuous coverage. This would help people who are unserved or underserved to get broadband internet.
The most recent Starlink launch was on May 26th. A SpaceX rocket is due to launch a batch of Starlink satellites into high-inclination orbits from Vandenberg Air Force base in California in July on an as yet unspecified date.