- Starlink is SpaceX’s lucrative satellite internet business capable of reaching rural areas and other regions that have traditionally been underserved.
- SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket regularly deploys Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Five years after Starlink first became operational, 7 million people in 150 countries now use the internet service, according to SpaceX.
Elon Musk and SpaceX are commemorating a major milestone in the commercial spaceflight company’s satellite internet service, known as Starlink.
The growing satellite constellation, which SpaceX has been building for years, recently marked its five-year anniversary of providing internet to millions of customers around the world, according to an Oct. 26 social media post.
SpaceX, which billionaire Musk founded in 2002, has steadily added batches of Starlink satellites to its constellation in space with regular Falcon 9 rocket launches from Florida and California. And expanded services are on the way as the company develops its Starship megarocket to deploy even bigger satellites in the years ahead – in addition to its trips to the moon and Mars.
Here’s everything to know about Starlink and SpaceX’s future plans for the satellite internet service.
What is Starlink? How much does it cost?
Starlink is SpaceX’s lucrative satellite internet business.
While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up. Residing closer to Earth’s atmosphere allows Starlink’s satellites to have lower latency and data time between user and the satellite, improving performance of things like streaming, online gaming and video calls.
That means the satellites are equipped to make internet service accessible in rural areas and other regions that have been traditionally harder to reach.
Residential plans for Starlink services start at $80 per month.
When did SpaceX Falcon 9 launch first Starlink satellites into orbit?
SpaceX bills itself as the only satellite internet provider with its own reusable rocket capable of deploying the technology. That rocket, the two-stage, 230-foot Falcon 9, launched on its first Starlink satellite deployment mission in May 2019 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
SpaceX launches Starlink missions from Florida Space Coast
Today, SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket regularly deploys Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida – at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station – as well as California.
The Sunshine State is accustomed to a regular cadence of Starlink deployment missions, with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 getting off the ground as often as twice a week to deliver batches of the satellites to orbit.
When is the next SpaceX rocket launch?
In fact, a recent Starlink mission from Florida – the 89th launch of the year in the state – served as a record-breaking 136th annual nationwide launch for SpaceX. SpaceX is also working toward another launch of its Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday, Oct. 29, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
How many Starlink satellites are in space?
Starlink has grown into a constellation of more than 8,700 satellites.
Many observers and analysts believe SpaceX has a goal of deploying about 30,000 Starlink satellites into orbit within the next five years – though the company still requires regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission to do so.
How many Starlink customers are there?
Five years after Starlink first became operational, 7 million people in 150 countries now use the internet service, according to SpaceX.
To mark the five-year milestone, Starlink recently shared a promotional video on social media site X, which SpaceX CEO Musk owns, of customers in rural Idaho. Identified as Wendy and Sean, the couple were among the service’s first customers.
“With Starlink, we didn’t have to compromise on where we lived due to lack of technology,” Sean says in the video, later adding “we can live very rural, and yet we are connected to anybody like in the city.”
Amazon challenges SpaceX with Project Kuiper
Amazon, which is owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is also getting its own satellite internet service going, called Project Kuiper.
So far, Amazon has deployed 153 of a total of about 3,200 planned satellites into space across six missions since the end of April, all of which have gotten off the ground from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Because spaceflight company Blue Origin, which Bezos also owns, is still developing its New Glenn spacecraft, Amazon doesn’t have an orbital-class rocket of its own for payload deliveries. Instead, Amazon has had to contract other launch providers, including the United Launch Alliance – and even SpaceX.
Starship could deploy bigger satellites
SpaceX’s Starship, the centerpiece of Musk’s vision of sending the first humans to Mars, is also due to one day soon send larger batches of Starlink internet satellites into space.
In fact, in the past two flight tests for the world’s largest rocket, standing at more than 400 feet tall, SpaceX deployed eight mock Starlink satellites above Earth’s atmosphere, where they eventually burned up.
Starship’s envisioned role in the expanding Starlink internet business is intended to expand connectivity to its customers, according to SpaceX.
Contributing: Brooke Edwards, FLORIDA TODAY
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
