海角大神

Our five selected stories in today鈥檚 edition cover security in Iraq, a shift in how U.S. colleges measure merit, closing the inequality gap for low-wage workers, why age doesn鈥檛 define Democratic voters, and challenging injustice in South Africa.聽

Sometimes the path to progress goes through space.

On Monday night, 60 satellites were launched into orbit. Yes, 60. These little digital moons 鈥� about the size of a desk 鈥� are the next step in Elon Musk鈥檚 plan for high-speed internet access around the world. Literally.

But SpaceX is just getting started. This mission is the first of . The company is creating an initial Earth necklace of 1,500 satellites. In low orbit (340 miles), there鈥檚 less signal delay, so internet speeds should be comparable to current broadband. By year-end, Starlink expects to sell internet access to the northern United States and Canada.聽

Yes, I鈥檓 a fanboy because I live in a rural area without internet. That may sound like we live in Henry David Thoreau鈥檚 cabin, but there are about 15 million to 20 million U.S. homes without broadband. Worldwide, half of the population doesn鈥檛 have regular internet access. It鈥檚 a huge digital info equality gap. And, that鈥檚 nearly 4 billion people who can鈥檛 play Fortnite. Devastating, right?聽

Starlink is one of four companies (including Amazon) racing to create low-orbit satellite internet. Skeptics say . . And Facebook, Google, and other companies are also 聽鈥� rural solutions. But Mr. Musk is leveraging SpaceX reusable rockets to quickly get this idea off the ground in hopes the revenues will someday fund his $200 billion Mars mission.聽

Look up: On a clear night, you can see ingenuity circling the globe.聽