Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The Federal Communications Commission said connected Friday it has approved SpaceX's petition to deploy different 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites arsenic it works to boost net work worldwide.
The FCC said Elon Musk's SpaceX tin present run an further 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, bringing the full to 15,000 satellites worldwide. The FCC is besides allowing SpaceX to upgrade the satellites and run crossed 5 frequencies and is waiving anterior requirements that prevented overlapping sum and enhanced capacity.
The bureau said the further satellites volition supply direct-to-cell connectivity extracurricular the United States and supplemental U.S. coverage, which volition let for next-generation mobile services arsenic good arsenic net speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
"This FCC authorization is simply a game-changer for enabling next-generation services," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said. "By authorizing 15,000 caller and precocious satellites, the FCC has fixed SpaceX the greenish airy to present unprecedented outer broadband capabilities, fortify competition, and assistance guarantee that nary assemblage is near behind."
SpaceX has sought support to deploy astir 30,000 satellites but the FCC said it was for present approving lone 15,000.
"We find that authorization for further satellites is successful the nationalist interest, adjacent arsenic the Gen2 Starlink Upgrade satellites stay untested connected orbit. We defer authorization of the remaining 14,988 projected Gen2 Starlink satellites, including satellites projected for operations supra 600 km," the FCC said.
The FCC said SpaceX indispensable motorboat 50% of the maximum fig of authorized Gen2 satellites, spot them successful assigned orbits, and run them nary aboriginal than December 1, 2028, and SpaceX indispensable motorboat the remaining satellites by December 2031. It indispensable implicit the deployment of the 7,500 first-generation satellites by precocious November 2027.
Last week, Starlink said it would statesman reconfiguring its outer constellation by lowering each satellites orbiting astatine astir 550 km (342 miles) to 480 km implicit the people of 2026, a determination to summation abstraction safety.
Starlink said successful December that 1 of its satellites experienced an anomaly successful space, creating a "small" magnitude of debris and cutting disconnected communications with the spacecraft astatine an altitude of 418 km, a uncommon kinetic mishap successful orbit for the outer net giant.
SpaceX has go the world's largest outer relation done Starlink, a web of astir 9,400 satellites beaming broadband net to consumers, governments and endeavor customers.
The predecessor of FCC main Carr, Jessica Rosenworcel, urged successful 2024 for much contention to SpaceX's net outer constellation Starlink, noting astatine the clip that Starlink controlled astir two-thirds of each progressive satellites.
English (US) ·