Mega Towers – the new race into space

Broadband Internet even in the most remote corners of the world, data communications for autonomous vehicles or drones and transmissions everywhere: the networks of the thousands of miniature satellites currently being built in Earth’s orbit should make all this possible. Mega towers promise nothing less than a new era of global communication – but they also have their downsides.

The race has begun online via satellite. So far, all three private companies are in direct competition – SpaceX with Starlink, Amazon with the Kuiper project and the company OneWeb, created specifically for this. But China and the European Union have already announced their desire to put their own satellite networks into orbit in the future. Attracts prospects of great profits and dominance of digital communications.

But others see the color somewhat black when considering the tens of thousands of other satellites in Earth’s orbit: astronomers warn of light pollution and glitches when observing with telescopes. Space agencies fear an increase in collisions in the already full orbit of the Earth and an increase in space junk.

5. November 2021

– Nadia Podebrigar