High Temperatures Scorch StarLink Internet Service Across Southwest
Download mp3 (2.19 MB)While many throughout the Southwest are seeking shelter from the heat in the comfort of air conditioned homes, the blazing sun is killing internet service for StarLink subscribers in the path of this heat wave.
StarLink is the high-speed satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX — the program has been controversial for putting nearly 1,500 satellites in orbit, interfering with earth-bound space observation.
Subscribers to the service buy a StarLink satellite dish — a product that is semi-officially referred to by StarLink as “Dishy McFlatface” — to receive the internet signal.
An Arizona subscriber who goes by the handle “SocietyTomorrow” reported on a Reddit board that his “Dishy McFlatface” had shut down in the Arizona sun, costing him all internet service.
Immediately following his posting, users throughout the American South and West reported similar failures with their “Dishy McFlatface” satellite internet dishes.
As for the solution to the outages, SocietyTomorrow found that setting his lawn sprinkler next to the dish cooled it down and returned it to full operational power.
A report from Ars Technica found that the “Dishy McFlatface” satellite dishes crash when the units hit 122 degrees, and like a bored 6-year-old, can be fixed with a simple sprinkler.
