Google Cloud partners with SpaceX to boost Starlink connectivity

Yesterday, Google Cloud (or GCP, for those in the know) announced a partnership with SpaceX. Elon Musk’s privately held rocket rideshare and internet-from-space company will insert Starlink terminals into GCP data centers around the world.

• The first terminal installation will be at Google's $600 million data center in New Albany, Ohio, The Verge reported. The site is not yet fully operational.
• The service will be available in the second half of this year, Google says.

Space, meet ground

SpaceX has launched 1,500+ Starlink satellites into orbit. Google has fiber-optic connections and subsea cables connecting all of its data centers. At the “edge” of a network—i.e., areas underserved by telcos or internet service providers—the SpaceX-GCP partnership should make it easier for households and businesses to connect to Starlink.

The real question: If you aren’t competing for market share in space, are you even a major US cloud provider? Microsoft Azure has its own space business segment. So does AWS, which has customers including Project Kuiper and Blue Origin. —RD