MAPMAKERS TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE
Starlink
Starlink is SpaceX’s low-Earth-orbit satellite broadband network, built around large numbers of satellites, electronically steered user terminals, ground gateways, and optical inter-satellite links on later spacecraft.
Technical basis
The low-orbit architecture reduces latency compared with traditional geostationary broadband, while optical links allow traffic to move between satellites before reaching a ground gateway.
Mapmakers development
By 2044, the series extends the same communications architecture outward through additional commercial relay spacecraft. Users beyond Earth orbit can reach terrestrial networks without routing every message through a private headquarters. Greater network reach does not remove the light-speed delay imposed by interplanetary distance.
Series appearances
- The Divided Peninsula — Chapter Ten
- Watchtowers — Chapter Four
- The Mine — Chapters Five and Six