As a Starlink terminal communicates with satellites overhead, it continuously builds a real-time obstruction map, allowing Starlink to dynamically understand its environment. With this information, it can proactively select the best and most stable connection. These proactive satellite switches are imperceptible to the user and occur many times per minute – with Starlink’s low-Earth-orbiting satellites rapidly transiting the sky, it’s a natural part of the system. For dynamic obstructions, such as are encountered by mobile terminals, the system reactively switches in less than 1/10th of a second, allowing a connection to remain stable. The dynamic nature of Starlink combined with the many paths for the system to route traffic provide a high degree of resiliency in obstructed and changing environments.

Additionally, to help customers get the most out of their service, the Starlink app includes a built-in tool to preview the install location and guide customers to the best placement with the fewest obstructions. After setup, the Starlink app provides a live obstruction map that shows exactly where signal blockages are occurring and how they may affect your experience, so that users can make informed decisions about optimizing their installation. Starlink also measures uptime 10 times a second from every terminal, transparently reporting any outage that is longer than 1/10th of a second in the app. For well-installed, even partially obstructed terminals, this uptime is typically at the 99.9% level. As we continue to improve our software systems and launch more satellites, Starlink becomes even more robust. With a denser satellite network, and increasingly advanced algorithms, our system has more paths to route around obstacles, making service more resilient, even in challenging environments.