SpaceX Inspiration4 astronaut and Shift4 Payments founder Jared Isaacman funded the Polaris Program to help SpaceX advance spaceflight technologies on future missions. Last year, the Polaris Program donated to connect over 100 schools situated in Chile and Brazil to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. The Polaris Program partnered with Brazil’s ‘Instituto Escola Conectada’ (Connected School Institute) which is dedicated to connecting public schools across the country to the internet. On June 15, the institute shared an inspiring video of a SpaceX Starlink internet terminal being installed in a remote school located in the Amazon rainforest. The video also shows the long distances children travel to attend school in their remote community situated in the Amazon forest. They travel by boat along a river that is surrounded by beautiful lush trees and they arrive at the isolated school around four hours later, watch the 4-minute video linked below. With Starlink, the students will be able to access the 'tree of knowledge.'
“We are united with Starlink, Polaris Program, and Megaedu in the mission to bring education, imagination, and opportunities to previously isolated communities. We believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, and we work tirelessly to connect roots and enable knowledge to flourish. The transformation begins here, in the heart of the forest, and spreads throughout the country. Special thanks to the Datora Group, the creator and supporter of the Instituto Escola Conectada,” said Instituto Escola Conectada representatives via Twitter.
We are united with @Starlink, @PolarisProgram, and Megaedu in the mission to bring education, imagination, and opportunities to previously isolated communities. We believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, and we work tirelessly to connect roots and enable… pic.twitter.com/rX2zShCqBg
— Instituto Escola Conectada (@ie_conectada) June 15, 2023
Teachers say that they previously did not have internet in the forest and that their cell phone does not have any reception. In order to access the internet, they had to travel to distant villages or the city to access Wi-Fi which can often be expensive. They expressed happiness to have reliable internet because it makes teaching complex lessons much easier and entertaining for students.
Telecommunication companies rarely build fiber-optic internet infrastructures or cell phone towers in remote regions because it is incredibly expensive and these areas often do not have enough population to pay for the service. With SpaceX’s Starlink, anyone around the world can access the internet by simply connecting the phased array user antenna to electricity and pointing it at the sky to access the broadband satellite constellation. A single Starlink Wi-Fi router can support around 100 devices simultaneously.
Brazil’s government is also working to connect schools in rural communities. In September 2022, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell visited the first schools in Brazil that were connected to Starlink. SpaceX founder Elon Musk also met with Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro and they partnered to connect thousands of schools to the Starlink network. – “Super excited [...] for launch of Starlink for 19,000 unconnected schools in rural areas & environmental monitoring of Amazon!" said Musk on May 20, 2022, as previously reported by TESMANIAN. Read more: SpaceX Starlink connects Amazon Region
》 Author's note: My work is possible Thanks to everyone who reads Tesmanian.com. Write your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have any story suggestions or feedback, feel free to Direct Message me on Twitter: Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve Read my most recent stories here: Recent News Stories 《
Featured Image Source: Brazil Instituto Escola Conectada
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
