Cats, Other Animals Seen Staying On Elon Musk's Starlink Dishes; What Are They Doing There?

On chilly days, it appears that SpaceX's Starlink reception dishes are attracting neighborhood cats, which is Elon Musk's attempt to build his space enterprise as a heavyweight internet service provider employing constellations of satellites.

Some people spotted at least five cats cuddling up on one of the plates in a customer's tweet. According to the user, Starlink works well until cats use the heat the dish creates. So far, the sweet photo of almost a half-dozen cats snuggled up on a snowy satellite has received at least 180,000 likes on social media as of writing.

Other users reported worries that birds perched on the dish's rim would make messes, causing performance difficulties. However, it's unclear if the intrusions create service disruptions.

Other tiny creatures are drawn to the dishes. One Reddit user on the r/Starlink subReddit went so far as to utilize infrared imaging to figure out why animals could concentrate around their dish.

Another Redditor replied that the user checked a thermal sight to inspect the dish. It seems that the entire plate, including the reverse, is heated. If it's ground-mounted, others could discover animals under or around it in general.

Netizens Tell SpaceX Starlink to Do Something Over Dish Heating

Sites such as The Verge have already panned the internet provider over some issues. So even if tales of animals resting on plates abound, it would require a comprehensive study to determine whether they're the root of the problem.

For certain Starlink subscribers, heat emission from Musk's broadband internet service's dish receivers has been an unsolved 'problem' for a long time. In a Reddit complaint (per Republic World), a user urged SpaceX to turn to some active heat removals like fans or thermoelectric cooling.

While Starlink's dishes have previously been advised to properly regulate its heating system, the felines may advise otherwise as winter continues in the United States. Cats are congregating on top of SpaceX's new low-orbit satellite to take advantage of the heat it generates. The dishes used by SpaceX's internet service, which utilize orbiting satellites, have become a major source of feline infection on the ground. Musk's supporters believe the dish might also serve as a winter heating point for smaller animals.

About Starlink

Starlink is SpaceX's internet service that employs orbiting satellites, which recently caused an international problem when the Chinese space station had to swerve out of the way. But the charming, earthly kitty infestation may be impossible to escape as long as the dishes aren't in operation.

SpaceX has launched several tiny satellites to provide internet connectivity to anybody, everywhere on the earth, especially in rural locations where some people still lack access. Approximately six out of ten people in the world now use the internet, whether at home, school, work, or on mobile devices.

Check out more news and information on Starlink in Science Times.