SpaceX is Ready To Launch 7,500 More Starlink Satellites
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to more than double the number of operational satellites currently orbiting the Earth in coming years.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted the company permission to proceed with its plans to launch 7,500 additional Starlink broadband internet satellites. This represents about one-fourth of the 29,988 additional flying routers that the company had proposed including in its nascent mega-constellation in low-Earth orbit.
On Dec. 1, the federal agency approved launching thousands of second generation (Gen2) Starlink routers while deferring action on the remaining 22,000-plus satellites in the request. The authorization permits SpaceX to use Ku and Ka-band frequencies and defers the company’s proposed use of E-band frequencies and tracking beacons.
The new request basically replaces a past approval from the FCC allowing SpaceX to send a gathering of more than 7,500 satellites utilizing the V-band.Since then, the company has abandoned that strategy.
The order states, “This means the total number of satellites SpaceX is authorized to deploy does not increase as a result of our action today.”And actually slightly lessens it in comparison to the total number of satellites SpaceX could have deployed in the absence of this.”
Since then, SpaceX has added more than 1,000 satellites to that number, and the authorization for Gen2 satellites will more than double that total.
In recent years, a number of scientific organizations have expressed concern about the ways in which the flurry of satellites in low-Earth orbit may obstruct astronomical observations and put astronauts’ and other satellites’ operations in orbit in jeopardy.
SpaceX has responded by promising to de-orbit the satellites on time, add special coatings, and make technological advancements to lower the reflectivity of the satellites.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The authorization basically guarantees that Starlink launches will continue to occur frequently throughout the remainder of the decade, assuming that the FCC does not issue any further orders.Half of the newly approved satellites must be operational within six years, and the other half must be launched and operational by December 1, 2031, according to the order.
