Thread

1. yanis_t · 1790247676 · focus · HN ↗

   For anyone interested, there’s another part of the Starlink besides the satellites and your dish - ground stations (gateways) [].

   These are the large clusters of antennas that communicate with the satellites and connect the Starlink network to the Internet on Earth. Looks like one of these was set on fire.

   <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;starlink.com&#x2F;support&#x2F;article&#x2F;45d1d256-171e-0f67-4895-5d248fa63b66" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;starlink.com&#x2F;support&#x2F;article&#x2F;45d1d256-171e-0f67-4895...

   1. kamranjon · 1790248317 · focus · HN ↗

      Huh… I always thought direct satellite connection was one of the things that distinguished starlink from cellular tech like 4g or 5g, and that low earth orbit was what made it possible… what actually makes starlink different?

      Edit: oh I think? I understand now, these basically relay the internet itself up to the satellites - so your individual starlink dish is still talking directly to a satellite but the satellite resolves your request for a website through these ground stations. I think?

      1. spockz · 1790248491 · focus · HN ↗

         It is. But at some point traffic had to hit the ground to connect to other parts of the internet. That happens at these ground stations.

         1. lxgr · 1790256775 · focus · HN ↗

            It doesn&#x27;t have to happen at exactly these specific ground stations, though (although any outage will increase the load on in-space forwarding capacity and downlink capacity of some other satellites, though).

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