What is Starlink? How does it work in the simplest terms?

What is Starlink?

Simply put, Starlink is a satellite internet service developed by SpaceX.

Imagine trying to get online in many remote mountainous areas, at sea, or in places with poor network infrastructure. It's often very difficult, with no signal, or slow and expensive connections. Starlink's goal is to solve this problem, allowing you (theoretically) to access high-speed, stable internet from almost any corner of the Earth. It's like a global "space Wi-Fi."

How Does It Work?

The working principle might sound like science fiction, but broken down, it's quite easy to understand, mainly in three steps:

A 'Net' in the Sky: SpaceX uses its own rockets to launch thousands of small satellites into orbits relatively close to Earth (this is called 'Low Earth Orbit' or LEO). Unlike older, high-altitude communication satellites, these satellites are very close to us, enveloping the Earth like a giant net. Because they are close, signals travel back and forth quickly, resulting in low network latency, which is crucial.
Ground 'Relay Stations': Having satellites in the sky isn't enough; they also need to connect to the internet we use today (i.e., the fiber optic cables buried underground). Therefore, Starlink has built many ground stations around the world (you can imagine them as large signal transceiver base stations). These ground stations connect to the global internet via fiber optics.
A 'Small Dish' at Your Home: As a user, you'll receive a kit, the most crucial part of which is a small satellite dish that can automatically adjust its angle (people often call it a 'small dish' or 'pizza box'). You install it on your roof or in your yard, ensuring it has a clear view of the sky.

The entire internet access process works like this:

When you want to open a website, the request goes from your computer to your home 'small dish'.
The 'small dish' looks up, finds a passing Starlink satellite, and beams the signal up.
The satellite receives the signal and immediately transmits it to the nearest ground relay station.
The ground station retrieves the website data from the internet via fiber optics and beams it back to the satellite in the sky.
The satellite then transmits the data back to your home 'small dish'.
Finally, your computer receives the data, and the website opens!

Although the whole process sounds convoluted, because the satellites are in Low Earth Orbit, signal transmission is extremely fast. So, your experience will feel similar to using home fiber optic broadband; watching HD videos, playing games, or having video conferences will be no problem.

To summarize with the simplest analogy:

Your home 'small dish' is 'you', the satellites in the sky are 'delivery drivers', and the ground relay stations are 'Cainiao Post Stations' (connecting to the global logistics network). When you want to buy something (access a website), you tell the nearest delivery driver. He goes to the post station to pick up the goods and quickly delivers them back to you. Because there are a huge number of delivery drivers (satellites) and they fly close to you, sending and receiving goods is extremely fast.