Starlink
Cat heating instead of super internet: Elons Musk’s satellite dishes are so fluffy being misappropriated
Actually, the Starlink bowls from the Tesla founder are supposed to bring satellite internet to remote areas. But apparently a side effect ensures a different use than planned.
As one is used to from Elon Musk, it is an ambitious plan. With thousands of satellites, the Tesla and SpaceX boss is building his own network under the name Starlink. And provides people with high-speed internet straight from space. Musk and his team are unlikely to have expected success: the satellite antennas are also very popular with cats.
A Twitter user documented this with a photo. It shows his Starlink antenna in the snowy courtyard. Little can be seen of the white satellite dish – because it is besieged by not one, but five cats.
De-icing function with a side effect
The reason for this lies in one of the features of the Starlink bowls: so that they also function properly in winter weather, the engineers have decided to give them a heating function so that they can defrost snow and ice independently. And as every cat connoisseur knows, the fluffy four-legged friends love little more than making themselves comfortable on a comfortably warm surface.
The bowls don’t get really hot, but they are warm enough, reveals an addition from the cat owner: “You have a heated cat house, including water and food. But it’s -25 degrees Celsius and you prefer to sit on the Starlink bowl,” explained he on allegations of locking the cats out in the cold. However, the cats seem to appreciate the combination of sun and warmth above all. “As soon as the sun goes down, they’ll go back inside.”
Trouble in space
As funny as the picture of the satellite cats is for bystanders, it is just as annoying for Taylor. The effect on the connection can be felt during the day. “It doesn’t stop them entirely, but it slows everything down noticeably,” he complains. Commentators on Reddit, who also had cats in their bowls, also agree with this experience. Taylor admits that he is considering moving the bowl to a higher location than on the ground.
For Musk’s company Starlink, however, the post should be more of a cause for joy. In the past few weeks, the company has struggled with significantly worse headlines. Because the company’s thousands of satellites were condensing the Earth’s already tight orbit even further, China had officially filed a complaint with the United Nations. The accusation: The Chinese space station had to change course in order to avoid a collision with one of the Starlink satellites. Find out more here. Such problems might threaten more often in the future. The company’s 1,600 satellites are currently in orbit – of 12,000 already approved.
Those: Twitter
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