SpaceX is making a new push to receive regulatory clearance to operate nearly 30,000 Starlink satellites in Earth’s orbit. The company is

To Offer Gigabit Speeds, SpaceX's Starlink Makes New Push For 30,000 Satellites

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2024-10-18 23:30:05

SpaceX is making a new push to receive regulatory clearance to operate nearly 30,000 Starlink satellites in Earth’s orbit.

The company is making the request to the US Federal Communications Commission as part of an effort to upgrade the Starlink network to deliver gigabit speeds to users.

Last Friday, SpaceX revealed some of the plans in an earlier FCC filing, which requests to modify the second-generation Starlink network to harness additional radio spectrum and use lower orbits. This includes tapping E-band frequencies and operating the Starlink satellites from around 530 kilometers down to 480 kilometers in orbit.

Today, the company then made another FCC filing that requests even more radio spectrum and even lower orbits for the second-gen system. On top of this, SpaceX is seeking permission to deploy up to 29,988 satellites, matching the number initially requested for its second-generation Starlink network. (Back in 2022, the FCC only granted permission for up to 7,500.)

In one of the documents, SpaceX notes the proposed changes “will enable the Gen2 system to deliver gigabit-speeds, truly low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity to all Americans and the billions of people around the world who still lack access to adequate broadband.”