BigBlue1
Veteran Member
I know there are multiple (probably lots of) ground stations with fiber interconnectivity. Is the system smart enough to switch to an alternate uplink site should the one nearest you go down?
Also, how do these receivers mount? One would think that to be able to select between multiple birds it would need to face up...is there some sort of radome to shed snow (I would hope)?
No specific knowledge on the failover for the sat to ground connections, but one would assume there is redundancy. As far as I understand things, as the sats move they change which ground station they connect to, so while they are overhead your location they are connecting to the ground station in your area. But the cells are fairly narrow (7-10 miles?) so I'd suspect the sat can access several if needed.
The ground station components are inside domes. Here's a link with some info. There is more out there if you search around.

Canadian Man Discovers Prototype SpaceX Starlink Ground Station in Remote City
The ground stations are vital to the Starlink Network.


SpaceX Starlink Gateway Stations Found In The United States & Abroad
SpaceX enthusiasts have seen Starlink Gateway stations across the world. They shared photographs of the ground stations via social media.

Rob