Elon Musk has always maintained that his Starlink was born to deliver high-speed Internet to less-served areas of the world. One of these, as revealed in a recent press release from the Brazilian government, will be the Amazon rainforest, which is home to indigenous communities and is, unfortunately, also home to activities of deforestation illegal.
According to the Press release, The Brazilian government has entered into talks with SpaceX to deploy Starlink in the Amazon rainforest. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met with the country's communications minister in Texas last Monday: the high-speed satellite Internet system could provide many benefits to the area. First by providing high-speed web connectivity to indigenous communities, remote schools and health centers.
It's not all. Starlink can also be used to monitor illegal deforestation that is literally destroying the Amazon rainforest. Satellites, after all, have already been used in the past to monitor environmental events, such as forest fires.
An eye from above against illegal deforestation
SpaceX's Starlink system currently has around 1.800 satellites in orbit. Starlink serves approximately 140.000 users in 20 countries to date, according to a presentation shown by the private space company earlier this month. It's just the beginning, though, as SpaceX plans to launch many more Starlink satellites in the near future. By doing so, the satellite system could provide quality connectivity even in areas not reachable by traditional high-speed internet lines.
“We are working to close this important partnership between the Brazilian government and SpaceX. We want to combine the technology they developed with the Brazil Wi-Fi program of the Ministry of Communications. Our goal is to bring the Internet to rural areas and remote places, as well as help control fires and illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest,” he said Fábio Faria, Brazilian Minister of Communications.
In a video posted by Faria on Twitter, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX looks forward to providing much-needed internet connectivity to underserved areas of Brazil. He also expressed some optimism about how the system could be used to help preserve the Amazon rainforest. “With better connectivity, we can help ensure the conservation of the Amazon,” Musk said.
