In 2002, Elon Musk started an aerospace company to create new technologies to reduce the cost of accessing space and “colonizing” Mars. It is for this purpose that Starlink was born, a constellation of satellites and parabolic antennas that aims to connect even the seemingly inaccessible areas where, for the moment, no signal reaches. But Starlink had a real connection problem, due to unexpected guests.
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image credit: tippen22/twitter
It was the cats that caused Starlink to tilt by perching on Starlink dishes. These, with their ovoid shape, give off heat. Elon Musk and SpaceX have ensured that the dishes are equipped with a special automatic heating system to prevent cold and ice in certain places from hampering their operation. But they obviously did not take into account that this very heat could be an attraction for animals. The heat attracted the felines, who made it their “berth” to stay warm.
What was the effect of the presence of these unexpected guests? The chats slowed down the connection speed considerably, and it was Aaron Taylor who noticed the situation. The man posted a message on Twitter, in which he wrote: “Starlink works great until the cats find out that the antenna gives off a bit of heat on cold days.” In the photo we see five cats huddled on the Starlink antenna, while all around there is snow, and therefore very cold. The cats found warmth and shelter on the dish, preventing the man from having fast internet access. Aaron was forced to move the dish to a place seemingly inaccessible to cats: the roof. We do not know if the problem has been solved, because other animals – birds, for example – could also be attracted by the heat of the dish and thus disturb the connection. Elon Musk’s plan is very ambitious: to bring connectivity everywhere, but no one would have expected that animals could also enjoy the dishes. We don’t know if other people have had the same issue, and if SpaceX is taking any action to fix it. Waiting for,
source used: The Guardian