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| How SpaceX Keeps Starlink Secrets |
The removal of Starlink's Dishy McFlatface antenna has revealed new details about SpaceX's satellite internet antenna, including how to prevent the company from misusing its development hardware.
Starlink, which was launched last year, relies on more and more satellites in orbit and an automatically positioning antenna on the ground to communicate with it.
The SpaceX satellite network is underway, adding several Falcon 9 rocket launches to the network.
In this case, Starlink will close the gap and add more users to the system.
On Earth, Starlink uses a dedicated satellite antenna connected to a special router. It is configured with the Starlink app and is designed to move automatically to maintain the best angle.
However, it turns out that what Elon Musk does within the company can also spark curiosity.
One such group is the University of Leuven's Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography Research Group, which the group acquired when the Starlink system was introduced in Belgium at the end of May.
The team found that SpaceX clearly repeated the basic design of the bowl. The team's Starlink gear is different from what was seen in the previous listing, and there are differences in the connectors as well.
SpaceX keeps Starlink a secret
Elon Musk recently said the company is working to halve the cost of building each Starlink antenna, with SpaceX currently losing money.
SpaceX prevents these development systems from getting out of hand. The team said the development hardware is geofence-restricted and can only operate in pre-selected areas, most of which appear to be SpaceX sites.
He added, “If development equipment is used outside of these pre-determined geographical boundaries, the company can be notified.”
It is not the only control a company has over access to the platform. The team also announced that the company prevented users from logging into the system in real time.
This is achieved by including scanning during startup. Consumables are protected from shipping, so login prompts are disabled. This means that attempts to access the antenna via the UART port are prohibited.