- A $30 million superyacht has installed SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet.
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the news was “cool” in a Twitter post.
- The captain told Teslarati that Starlink was a game-changer, but didn’t work when crossing the Atlantic.
Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet, is now up and running on an Instagram-famous $30 million superyacht based in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
Teslarati first reported the news. The captain and a spokesperson for the yacht confirmed the news to Insider.
Motor yacht Loon, billed as the world’s most Instagrammed superyacht with “seven star” service, switched to Starlink when the maritime version of the service was released in early July, Captain Paul Clarke told Insider.
Musk responded to the Teslarati article on Twitter, saying “cool.” The billionaire is the founder of SpaceX, which owns Starlink. The company has more than 2,900 satellites currently in orbit, launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets.
Starlink Maritime on Loon costs $5,000 a month for consistent speeds, ranging from 150 Megabits per second to 200 Megabits per second, Clarke said. This is a drop in price from the yacht’s previous internet service, Viasat, which charged $10,000 a month for speeds of 50 to 80 Megabits per second, Clarke added.
“We’ve thrown everything we can at it, and it hasn’t missed a beat,” Clarke told Insider.
Clarke told Teslarati that Starlink was a “total game-changer” because every television on the 180-foot yacht is now able to stream in high-definition.
When Loon crossed the Atlantic Ocean, Starlink didn’t work, Clarke told Teslarati. He reached out to Starlink’s support team, who told him the service is expected to work in that area towards the end of the year, Clarke said in the interview
Clarke plans to test Starlink when Loon crosses the Atlantic again in May next year, he told Teslarati.
A spokesperson for Loon told Insider the crew onboard the yacht have experienced good internet connection thanks to Starlink, saying their experience was “really positive.”
The spokesperson added that Starlink has enabled the yacht’s onboard videographer to share content “much more efficiently.”
Loon has more than 62,000 followers on Instagram, where it posts scenic pictures of the yacht, crew, food onboard, and activities available during a charter. Clarke told Teslarati the yacht was worth $30 million. Loon can accommodate 12 guests and 14 crew and has an infinity pool, jacuzzi, and open-air bar, according to its website.
As Starlink expands its network, users across the world are reporting the different ways they are deploying Starlink. One user told Insider last week that he took Starlink on a week’s sailing vacation to Greece and said the service was “surprisingly good.”
