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.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Bulent Altan rejoined SpaceX in 2016 to work on Starlink, a planned constellation of up to 12,000 broadband satellites.
Bulent Altan worked on Starlink almost until the handover of the prototypes in 2017 before leaving to start the venture capital firm Global Space Ventures.
SpaceX launched two Starlink prototype satellites in February 2018.
The Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio awarded SpaceX a $28,000,000 contract in December to test over the next three years different ways the military might use Starlink broadband services.
On 2019-01-11 SpaceX announced layoffs of approximately 10 percent of its workforce to focus resources on its next-generation launch system and Starlink broadband constellation.
SpaceX received U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval in March to launch 4,425 Starlink satellites to altitudes of 1,110 to 1,325 km.
SpaceX is seeking FCC permission for an additional 7,518 Starlink satellites in very low Earth orbit at altitudes of 335 to 346 km.
Elon Musk aims to begin launching operational Starlink satellites in mid-2019 on a faster schedule than previously proposed by former managers.
SpaceX plans to include inter-satellite links for its Starlink constellation of over 4,000 satellites.
SpaceX's Starlink satellites are planned to orbit between 1,100 and 1,300 km and will have 25 to 35 milliseconds round-trip latency, which is below the FCC's 100-millisecond threshold for being classified as "low latency" under Connect America rules.
SpaceX launched two prototype Starlink satellites in February on a Falcon 9 mission that first deployed the Paz radar satellite for Spanish operator Hisdesat.
SpaceX formally notified the FCC earlier 2018-05 that it will not seek Connect America funding for Starlink.