How Satellite Internet Works
In October 2026 Ukraine's military found its Starlink and Starshield connections slowed for more than a week; Elon Musk said SpaceX had throttled the service, accusing Ukraine of breaking its terms, which Ukrainian officials denied. This film explains the technology behind the row: why radio needs a relay above the curve of the Earth, Arthur C. Clarke's 1945 idea of satellites that hang still, Telstar in 1962, geostationary satellites and why they add half a second of delay, low Earth orbit constellations from Iridium in 1998 to Starlink's more than 10,000 satellites, flat phased-array dishes that steer their beams with timing alone, why heavy rain weakens the signal, ground stations and laser links between satellites, how the operator controls where and how the service works, and the costs of a crowded sky for astronomy and space debris.
A network in the sky
Who holds the switch, and how it all works.
A relay in the sky
Radio goes straight. The Earth does not.
Parked overhead
High enough to stand still.
Fast and low
Close enough to be quick, too fast to stay.
A crowded sky
What thousands of satellites cost.
The dish that steers
Pointing a beam with timing alone.
Down to the ground
Every path ends at a gateway.
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