KATHMANDU, MAY 14
Renowned Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky conducted a live video call with his colleagues aboard the International Space Station (ISS)-using Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by billionaire Elon Musk-from the base of Mount Everest.
Ryazansky, a veteran of two space missions totaling 306 days in orbit (2013 and 2017), connected with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky on Tuesday evening, sharing his real-time experiences from Everest Base Camp.
"Sergey Ryazansky held a video call with his ISS colleagues, giving them a glimpse of his Everest expedition," said Mingma Gelu Sherpa, Managing Director of 7 Summits Adventure.
Ryazansky is part of a 12-member Russian Everest team led by famed mountaineer Alex Abramov. While he attempts to summit Everest this season, Ryzhikov and Zubritsky-who arrived at the ISS on April 8-are set to spend nearly eight months aboard the orbital station.
The use of Starlink in the Everest region has raised concerns in Nepal. Following reports of unauthorized operations, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) ordered an immediate halt to such activities. However, climbers who brought Starlink devices for personal use praised the service. "Despite the controversy, Starlink's uninterrupted connectivity is a game-changer on Everest," they shared.
Last year, Tyler Carnevale, product head of the Starlink Network Engineering team at SpaceX, also brought the Starlink device to test live streams from the roof of the world. "Tyler despite scaling Everest, however, failed to complete his mission to chat live with Elon Musk."
