Sighting of Elon Musk's Starlink over Ireland confirmed
Elon Musk's Starlink is part of his SpaceX company which he founded in 2002. Picture: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
A line of bright stars seen by hundreds over Ireland’s skies at the weekend has been confirmed as satellites belonging to Elon Musk’s Starlink, Astronomy Ireland has said.
The lights were visible from Glanmire Co Cork at 8.50pm on Friday night for a short period of time after they were launched on October 9.
Astronomy Ireland said there was never any doubt over the origins of the lights, which they had predicted would become visible.
Elon Musk's Starlink is part of his SpaceX company which he founded in 2002. The company has launched more than 4,500 satellites over the past five years.
The satellites can deliver internet access anywhere in the world from the Sahara Desert to the north pole.
Astronomy Ireland's David Moore said the launch is part of an approximate €40bn market for internet satellites.
“It’s like a phone mast system" he told the Irish Examiner "except it’s in space, and this is what it looks like when the satellites travel across the skies.
“Basically, a rocket sends up small satellites into space and in this case, Elon Musk is sending up between 20 and 60 at a time.
“When they get launched into space, they slowly drift apart. A large rocket throws them into space, they make their way up to the higher orbit, and as they become weaker, then spread out a bit further apart.
“At first you can see a short straight line in the sky, and you can’t distinguish one from the other, but in the past few nights, they’ve moved apart.
“I’ve seen them myself when you can’t distinguish one from the other, and there was 21 of them.
“They slowly drift apart, as the tiny motors in them boost their obit for several weeks, the motors are cheaper, that is why they become fainter, as they spread. If you were to put rocket motors in them, they would cost more".
Starlink, owner by Billionaire Musk, the wealthiest man on earth, allows customers to stream and make video calls and to work in the most remote locations.
The company has 12,000 licences for satellites and has applied for 42,000 more.
SpaceX began launching its satellites in 2019 and now operates thousands that are in low orbit.
The satellites eventually break down, safely deorbiting, however it could leave thousands in space which can result in “junk floating in space,” said Mr Moore.
He continued “The US military track everything in space and they will alert the international space station.
“But by the end of the decade with the number of companies getting licences to do this, Jeff Bezos, of Amazon included, we won’t be able to see the stars, instead we’ll be looking at satellites.
“Other companies are planning to put up their own commercial space stations, space is the future, and one trillion is spent on space every year and growing.
“We can’t feed the eight billion people we have on earth without satellites and space – the world would not survive because everything is tracked on GPS and maps.
“We run this planet with technology. But we want Elon Musk and any other company doing this, to stop. It’s like putting plastic in the ocean. In another decade the sky will be a blaze with satellites. We won’t be able to see the stars.
“Elon Musk was a young kid who loved space, then he got side tracked with technology and now he’s gone back to space and mixed the two. We are not happy about what is happening.
“For example, Ireland is a member of the EU consortium that is building a €1.2bn telescope, but 30% of it works will be ruined by satellites".
Astronomy Ireland has regular updates on Starlink’s satellites and predictions can be viewed on their social channels, follow the links from its website astronomy.ie
https://astronomy.ie/starlink-satellites/
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