SpaceX is aiming to double the number of Starlink satellites in orbit over the coming 18 months, which promises to let more people subscribe to the satellite internet service.
CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the goal on Monday. “Expecting over 4200 Starlink satellites in operation within 18 months, which is ~2/3 of all active satellites of Earth,” he wrote.
The number is significant because SpaceX currently has over 1,600 Starlink satellites in operation, according to the astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who has been tracking SpaceX satellite activity. Another 400 Starlink satellites are moving into the operational orbits.
All these satellites were launched over a three-year period dating back to May 2019. However, Musk’s tweet signals the company is now ready to accelerate Starlink’s buildout using the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
“SpaceX Falcon team is making excellent progress – aiming for 60 launches this year,” Musk added in a separate tweet.
The current Starlink network is serving 250,000 Starlink subscribers across the globe. So doubling the satellite count should increase the network’s coverage while also improving the system’s internet speeds and latency. Users in the US are currently experiencing download speeds at 100Mbps, although the internet quality can vary.
Still, the increased satellite rollout won’t address every problem facing Starlink. In October, SpaceX had to delay some customer orders due to the chip shortage hampering manufacturing of the Starlink dishes necessary to connect to the network. Earlier this month, the company also raised prices for Starlink, citing inflation.
For now, the US Federal Communications Commission has only granted SpaceX a license to operate 4,408 Starlink satellites at low-Earth orbits at around 550 kilometers. To send up more, the company is seeking regulatory approval for a second-generation Starlink network that intends to span almost 30,000 satellites. SpaceX plans to launch these satellites using its upcoming Starship craft.
