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 scheduled a Falcon 9 launch on 2020-01-06 to deploy a third set of 60 Starlink satellites.
On 2019-12-19 the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved SpaceX’s request to increase the number of orbital lanes for Starlink satellites to 72 rings at 550 km.
SpaceX has launched 120 of a planned 12,000 Starlink small broadband satellites into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX estimates that the Starlink orbit modifications could reduce the number of Starlink launches necessary by up to 50 percent.
Kepler Communications is deploying its constellation at 575 km to place it slightly above Starlink and reduce collision risks and associated conjunction alerts.
SpaceX estimates that tripling the number of lanes for the first Starlink satellites could enable it to build out enough coverage to offer internet access in southern U.S. states by the 2020 hurricane season.
SpaceX is building out Starlink from the poles with coverage expanding toward the equator as more satellites are launched.
SpaceX deployed the first 120 satellites of its planned 12,000-satellite Starlink broadband constellation in 2019.
Bulent Altan worked at SpaceX from 2004 to 2014 and returned in 2016 for a two-year stint working on SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation.
SpaceX decided to lower the orbit of some 1,600 planned Starlink satellites, a decision that caused operational hardship for Kepler and prompted Kepler to consider changing its constellation size before selecting the higher orbit.
SpaceX plans the Starlink constellation to be ready to provide global coverage by mid 2020.
SpaceX is planning 24 Starlink launches for 2020.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved SpaceX plans to operate a constellation of 12,000 Starlink broadband satellites.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved on 2019-11-07 a SpaceX request to test new Starlink satellites at a 350-kilometer orbit.
SpaceX completed its second Starlink launch of 60 satellites on 2019-11-11.
Finalists for Breakthrough of the Year included SpaceX’s Starlink, NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission, JAXA’s Hayabusa-2, China’s Chang’e 4 lunar landing, Spaceflight’s SSO-A SmallSat Express rideshare mission, Spektr-RG, and Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 satellite servicing mission.
SpaceX estimates it needs at least six Starlink launches, presumably of 60 satellites each, to begin offering internet access at high latitudes such as Canada and the northern United States.
SpaceX launched the 60 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:56 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
In September, SpaceX projected it might launch a total of five Starlink missions in 2019 and hoped to launch 24 Starlink missions in 2020.
SpaceX projects reaching global Starlink coverage after 24 launches, with that milestone anticipated in 2020.