The Role of Starlink in Scientific Research: How SpaceX’s Satellite Internet Is Transforming Field Science, Earth Observation, and Space Missions—While Challenging Astronomy
Starlink—the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet network built by SpaceX—was designed to solve a commercial problem: fast, low-latency connectivity anywhere on Earth. But as the constellation has scaled into the thousands of satellites and millions of users, it has quietly become something else, too: a new layer of scientific infrastructure. For researchers, Starlink is increasingly the difference between collecting data and acting on data—in real time, from places that used to be disconnected by default. From volcanic and seismic monitoring in Yellowstone, to university research vessels at sea, to Antarctic field camps, Starlink’s bandwidth and latency are changing how science is done
