More than 4,000 satellites danced in a complex orbit just above the earth’s surface, sending internet signals back to the ground. All of the satellites were owned by Elon Musk — striking symbols of how in just a few short years, Musk has come to dominate private space.
In an authoritative, visual examination of the rapid rise of Starlink internet satellites, The New York Times revealed how Musk quietly amassed unmatched power in the stars — a power that has provided remote areas, war-torn regions and places hit by natural disasters unprecedented connection to the outside world. It has also increasingly set off alarms with governments around the globe and jeopardized Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
Perhaps more striking: The story demonstrated that the power of the technology — which The Times visualized with intricate animations, explanatory diagrams, maps and other graphics, in addition to on-the-ground photography — is just beginning to be felt.
This project uniquely combined sophisticated data reporting, cutting-edge visual techniques and classic shoe-leather reporting. But at the core of the piece were the visualizations that brought to life how internet satellites, over four years, went from being considered a fool’s errand to dominating space just above the earth’s surface.
Visualizations explained how the technology works, how quickly they flew into orbit and how they coincided with Ukrainian war efforts during a crucial counteroffensive. Together, animations and graphics formed the narrative spine of a project that revealed closed-door conversations between government officials and the growing anxiety about the unchecked power held by an unpredictable billionaire.
The growing concentration of Starlink had long been told through anecdotes in coverage about war, global internet access and Musk’s growing corporate ambitions across Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX, the rocket company that makes the satellites. But this was the first definitive exploration by a major news organization of how Starlink came to dominate space. The Times’s reporting showed that of the thousands of active satellites orbiting the earth, Starlink accounted for more than half — a notable accomplishment for an endeavor that began only in 2019.
The Times’s reporting showed that Musk alone can decide to shut down Starlink internet access for a customer or country, and that he has the ability to leverage sensitive information that the service gathers. Such concerns have been heightened because no companies or governments have come close to matching what he has built.
