Elon Musk is not just out to conquer Mars. Before he gets to conquer the red planet, he first wants to fill our own sphere with as much floating space junk as possible. By space junk, I’m referring to a massive network of Starlink satellites that are set to connect every part of the globe and ensure that the entire Earth can have a decently fast internet connection.
It’s indeed a noble effort to connect the entire world to the internet and one that SpaceX probably can’t achieve on its own, which is perhaps why Google has announced that it will be partnering with the company to make Starlink a reality. Google is set to allow SpaceX to install Starlink ground stations at its data centers, and Google Cloud will provide networking and computing support for the internet service.
SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell, shared the following about the new collaboration with one of the world’s biggest tech companies:
Combining Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency broadband with Google’s infrastructure and capabilities provides global organizations with the secure and fast connection that modern organizations expect. We are proud to work with Google to deliver this access to businesses, public sector organizations, and many other groups operating around the world.
By integrating with Google’s cloud infrastructure, it will allow SpaceX to have access to their vast network of data centres and tools, which will allow them to achieve their goal of a globally connected world faster. Musk’s initiative will likely need many other partnerships as well to ensure they get all parts of the globe connected to different data centers to reduce latency even further, but for now, Google is certainly a good start with a global presence that can certainly help the company achieve its ambitious goals.
As things currently stand, there are already more than 1500 internet-providing Starlink satellites in orbit with SpaceX planning to deliver 40 000 satellites to eventually realise its dream. The company is intending to launch in South Africa in the second half of the year.
Last Updated: May 17, 2021
