Elon Musk famously told us that he developed the Starship mega rocket to “take humanity to Mars,” but perhaps that wasn’t his only ambition. It turns out he may have had a secret masterplan to dominate Earth’s orbital space.

Powered by Starship’s massive payload capacity and low-cost reusability, SpaceX has been able to populate their constellation with 42,000 advanced Starlink satellites, providing ubiquitous broadband coverage to every corner of the planet. Now it’s hardly worth asking who controls the global internet.

Every ship, airliner, and drone uses Starlink to stay in touch with home base, and the world. Every new Tesla comes equipped with Starlink as standard, and most other electric cars offer it as an option. Wi-Fi on the train or bus? Chances are it’s powered by Starlink. Military comms too. And almost all new smartphones talk directly to the satellites.

The power has shifted to who controls the network. Back in 2024, Starlink had to apply for licenses to operate in different countries. Now they pay Starlink to be their national carrier. It’s just so much cheaper, and more reliable.

But that’s not all. Every Starlink satellite also has multispectral cameras on board, giving a real-time view of global activity. Think highway conditions, dam levels, crop yields, natural disasters, urban emergencies, migration. In real time, 24/7, even through clouds. And the AI-stabilized live feed is constantly available, from pole to pole, for approved subscribers.

Never again will an airliner ‘go missing’ over the Indian Ocean, or an oligarch’s superyacht mysteriously disappear. If you want to escape Starlink’s gaze, you’ll have to go deep under water, or underground. It’s a dream come true for agencies like Interpol.

Which raises the question: If a corporate entity like Starlink controls a global communications and surveillance network, deciding who gets to go online where, and who gets to see what, and at what price, then who owns the world? Probably the person who owns Starlink!

Contact us for more provocative insights

At Futureworld we constantly imagine how future scenarios could impact strategic planning today. Starlink is in a unique position to dominate satellite connectivity and possibly surveillance. If you’d like to consider the challenges and opportunities this presents for your business, please reach out to Research and Insights leader Adam Parsons or the author Doug Vining.