Starlink, a division of SpaceX, is a satellite internet constellation operator aiming to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to underserved areas globally. With over 7,000 satellites in low Earth orbit as of March 2025, Starlink offers internet services with download speeds between 50 and 220 Mbps. It utilizes phased array antennas and optical space lasers for global coverage and supports various applications, including remote work, disaster recovery, and IoT. Keywords associated with Starlink are satellite internet, SpaceX, broadband, and LEO constellation.
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SpaceX launched an initial set of 60 Starlink satellites in May 2019.
The U.S. Army signed a three-year agreement with SpaceX on 2020-05-20 to experiment with using Starlink broadband to move data across military networks.
SpaceX is building and launching an initial Starlink constellation of roughly 4,400 satellites.
SpaceX is preparing to launch about 80 additional Starlink satellites based on the current design before regularly incorporating sunshades.
SpaceX has launched 422 Starlink satellites, including two prototypes, since 2018.
SpaceX’s first visor-equipped Starlink satellite, dubbed VisorSat, was expected to launch 2020-05-17 but was delayed by Tropical Storm Arthur until after the Crew Demo 2 mission scheduled for 2020-05-27 at 4:33 p.m. Eastern.
An agreement signed with SpaceX on 2020-05-20 gives the U.S. Army three years to try out the Starlink service.
Much of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite work is performed at a SpaceX facility in Redmond, Washington.
After Falcon 9 deploys the SkySats and the Starlink satellites, Planet’s spacecraft will use their on-board propulsion to boost themselves to an operational orbit of about 400 km above Earth.
The six SkySat satellites that Planet will launch on Starlink missions will go into mid-inclination orbits to offer targeted coverage and rapid revisit times.
SpaceX conducted a static-fire test at Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 of the Falcon 9 that will launch the next batch of Starlink satellites.
SkySats 16-18 will launch on SpaceX’s ninth Starlink mission expected to lift off in June.
The SpaceX contract gives the Space and Missile Systems Center visibility into SpaceX operations while SpaceX deploys its Starlink broadband internet constellation with its fleet of Falcon 9 rockets.
NASA completed a review of the March Starlink Falcon 9 engine anomaly and cleared the Falcon 9 engines for the Demo-2 vehicle.
SpaceX has been performing Starlink launches at a rate of at least one per month so far 2020, most recently on 2020-04-22.
Newer Starlink satellites are about one magnitude darker than the original v0.9 Starlink satellites launched in May 2019 even without DarkSat-style darkening treatments.
The 260-kilogram Starlink satellites will complete testing at their release orbit before climbing to an operational altitude of 550 km using onboard propulsion.
SpaceX launched its seventh batch of Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket on 2020-04-22.
SpaceX anticipates resistance to its 2024-04-17 proposed altitude change from smallsat companies that operate or plan to operate satellites near Starlink without propulsion.
SpaceX is asking the FCC for permission to operate all 4,400 of its first-generation Starlink satellites at much lower altitudes than previously planned.