Starlink
2004
In 2004, Larry Williams, SpaceX VP of Strategic Relations and former VP of Teledesic's "Internet in the sky" program, opened the SpaceX Washington DC office. That June, SpaceX acquired a stake in Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) as part of a "shared strategic vision". SSTL was at that time working to extend the Internet into space. However, SpaceX's stake was eventually sold back to EADS Astrium in 2008 after the company became more focused on navigation and Earth observation.
June 2014
In early 2014, Elon Musk and Greg Wyler were working together planning a constellation of around 700 satellites called WorldVu, which would be over 10 times the size of the then largest Iridium satellite constellation. However, these discussions broke down in June 2014, and SpaceX instead filed an ITU application via the Norway telecom regulator under the name STEAM. SpaceX confirmed the connection in the 2016 application to license Starlink with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). SpaceX trademarked the name Starlink in the United States for their satellite broadband network; the name was inspired by the 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars.
2015
In addition to the OneWeb constellation, announced nearly concurrently with the SpaceX constellation, a 2015 proposal from Samsung outlined a 4,600-satellite constellation orbiting at 1,400 km (870 mi) that could provide a zettabyte per month capacity worldwide, an equivalent of 200 gigabytes per month for 5 billion users of Internet data, but by 2020, no more public information had been released about the Samsung constellation. Telesat announced a smaller 117 satellite constellation in 2015 with plans to deliver initial service in 2021. Amazon announced a large broadband internet satellite constellation in April 2019, planning to launch 3,236 satellites in the next decade in what the company calls "Project Kuiper", a satellite constellation that will work in concert with Amazon's previously announced large network of twelve satellite ground station facilities (the "AWS ground station unit") announced in November 2018.
2015
The Internet communication satellites were expected to be in the smallsat-class of 100 to 500 kg (220 to 1,100 lb)-mass, and were intended to be in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of approximately 1,100 km (680 mi), according to early public releases of information in 2015. In the event, the first large deployment of 60 satellites in May 2019 were 227 kg (500 lb) and SpaceX decided to place the satellites at a relatively low 550 km (340 mi), due to concerns about the space environment. Initial plans as of January 2015 were for the constellation to be made up of approximately 4,000 cross-linked satellites, more than twice as many operational satellites as were in orbit in January 2015.
January 2015
Starlink was publicly announced in January 2015 with the opening of the SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington. During the opening, Musk stated there is still significant unmet demand worldwide for low-cost broadband capabilities. and that Starlink would target bandwidth to carry up to 50% of all backhaul communications traffic, and up to 10% of local Internet traffic, in high-density cities. Musk further stated that the positive cash flow from selling satellite internet services would be necessary to fund their Mars plans. Furthermore, SpaceX has long-term plans to develop and deploy a version of the satellite communication system to serve Mars.
February 2015
In February 2015, SpaceX asked the FCC to consider future innovative uses of the Ka-band spectrum before the FCC commits to 5G communications regulations that would create barriers to entry, since SpaceX is a new entrant to the satellite communications market. The SpaceX non-geostationary orbit communications satellite constellation will operate in the high-frequency bands above 24 GHz, "where steerable Earth station transmit antennas would have a wider geographic impact, and significantly lower satellite altitudes magnify the impact of aggregate interference from terrestrial transmissions".
February 2015
In February 2015, financial analysts questioned established geosynchronous orbit communications satellite fleet operators as to how they intended to respond to the competitive threat of SpaceX and OneWeb LEO communication satellites. In October 2015, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell indicated that while development continues, the business case for the long-term rollout of an operational satellite network was still in an early phase.
June 2015
At the time of the June 2015 announcement, SpaceX had stated plans to launch the first two demonstration satellites in 2016, but the target date was subsequently moved out to 2018. SpaceX began flight testing their satellite technologies in 2018 with the launch of two test satellites. The two identical satellites were called MicroSat-2a and MicroSat-2b during development but were renamed Tintin A and Tintin B upon orbital deployment on 22 February 2018. The satellites were launched by a Falcon 9 rocket, and they were piggy-pack payloads launching with the Paz satellite.
July 2016
Starting with 60 engineers, the company operated in 2,800 m (30,000 sq ft) of leased space, and by January 2017 had taken on a 2,800 m (30,000 sq ft) second facility, both in Redmond. In August 2018, SpaceX consolidated all their Seattle-area operations with a move to a larger three-building facility at Redmond Ridge Corporate Center to support satellite manufacturing in addition to R&D. In July 2016, SpaceX acquired an additional 740 m (8,000 sq ft) creative space in Irvine, California (Orange County). The Irvine office would include signal processing, RFIC, and ASIC development for the satellite program.
October 2016
By October 2016, the satellite division was focusing on a significant business challenge of achieving a sufficiently low-cost design for the user equipment. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said then that the project remained in the "design phase as the company seeks to tackle issues related to user-terminal cost".
November 2016
In November 2016, SpaceX filed an application with the FCC for a "non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system in the fixed-satellite service using the Ku- and Ka- frequency bands".
January 2017
The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing and orbit control facilities. In May 2018, SpaceX estimated the cost of designing, building and deploy the constellation was estimated to be at least US$10 billion (equivalent to US$10.73 billion in 2021). In January 2017 SpaceX expected more than $30 billion in revenue by 2025 from its satellite constellation, while revenues from its launch business were expected to reach $5 billion in the same year.
March 2017
In March 2017, SpaceX filed plans with the FCC to field a second orbital shell of more than 7,500 "V-band satellites in non-geosynchronous orbits to provide communications services" in an electromagnetic spectrum that has not previously been heavily employed for commercial communications services. Called the "Very-low Earth orbit (VLEO) constellation", it was to have comprised 7,518 satellites that were to orbit at just 340 km (210 mi) altitude, while the smaller, originally planned group of 4,425 satellites would operate in the Ka- and Ku-bands and orbit at 1,200 km (750 mi) altitude. By 2022, SpaceX had withdrawn plans to field the 7518-satellite V-band system, superseding it with a more comprehensive design for a second-generation (Gen2) Starlink network.
September 2017
In September 2017, the FCC ruled that half of the constellation must be in orbit within six years to comply with licensing terms, while the full system should be in orbit within nine years from the date of the license.
October 2017
By October 2017, the expectation for large increases in satellite network capacity from emerging lower-altitude broadband constellations caused market players to cancel some planned investments in new geosynchronous orbit broadband communications satellites.
2018
In 2018 the SDA was formed as part of a Trump Administration effort to resurrect the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). SDA accelerates development of missile defense capabilities using industry-procured low-cost low Earth orbit satellite platforms. The program was conceived and instituted by Under Secretary of Defense (R&E) Michael D. Griffin (who had decades earlier joined Musk on his trip to Russia to examine ICBMs as part of SpaceX's founding). A few months after Space Development Agency was announced, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell was asked by the United States Air Force, given the nature of the program, whether SpaceX would launch weapons into space for the US military. She affirmed "we would if it's for the defense of this country."
February 2018
After launching two test satellites in February 2018, the first batch of 60 operational Starlink satellites were launched in May 2019.
February 2018
Between February 2018 and February 2023, SpaceX successfully launched 4002 Starlink satellites into orbit, including prototypes and satellites that later failed or were de-orbited before entering operational service. In March 2020, SpaceX reported producing six satellites per day.
March 2018
In March 2018, the FCC granted SpaceX approval for the initial 4,425 satellites, with some conditions. SpaceX would need to obtain a separate approval from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The FCC supported a NASA request to ask SpaceX to achieve an even higher level of de-orbiting reliability than the standard that NASA had previously used for itself: reliably de-orbiting 90% of the satellites after their missions are complete.
May 2018
In May 2018, SpaceX expected the total cost of development and buildout of the constellation to approach $10 billion (equivalent to $10,730,000,000 in 2021). In mid-2018, SpaceX reorganized the satellite development division in Redmond, and terminated several members of senior management.
November 2018
In November 2018, SpaceX received U.S. regulatory approval to deploy 7,518 V-band broadband satellites, in addition to the 4,425 approved earlier; however, the V-band plans were subsequently withdrawn by 2022. At the same time, SpaceX also made new regulatory filings with the U.S. FCC to request the ability to alter its previously granted license in order to operate approximately 1,600 of the 4,425 Ka-/Ku-band satellites approved for operation at 1,150 km (710 mi) in a "new lower shell of the constellation" at only 550 km (340 mi) orbital altitude. These satellites would effectively operate in a third orbital shell, a 550 km (340 mi) orbit, while the higher and lower orbits at approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) and approximately 340 km (210 mi) would be used only later, once a considerably larger deployment of satellites becomes possible in the later years of the deployment process. The FCC approved the request in April 2019, giving approval to place nearly 12,000 satellites in three orbital shells: initially approximately 1,600 in a 550 km (340 mi) – altitude shell, and subsequently placing approximately 2,800 Ku- and Ka-band spectrum satellites at 1,150 km (710 mi) and approximately 7,500 V-band satellites at 340 km (210 mi). In total, nearly 12,000 satellites were planned to be deployed, with (as of 2019) a possible later extension to 42,000.
November 2018
Tintin A and B were inserted into a 514 km (319 mi) orbit. Per FCC filings, they were intended to raise themselves to an 1,125 km (699 mi) orbit, the operational altitude for Starlink LEO satellites per the earliest regulatory filings, but stayed close to their original orbits. SpaceX announced in November 2018 that they would like to operate an initial shell of about 1600 satellites in the constellation at about 550 km (340 mi) orbital altitude, at an altitude similar to the orbits Tintin A and B stayed in.
2019
In 2019, tests by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) demonstrated a 610 Mbit/s data link through Starlink to a Beechcraft C-12 Huron aircraft in flight. Additionally, in late 2019, the United States Air Force successfully tested a connection with Starlink on an AC-130 Gunship.
2019
SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of August 2023, it consists of over 5,000 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), which communicate with designated ground transceivers. Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000. SpaceX announced reaching more than 1 million subscribers in December 2022 , 1.5 million subscribers in May 2023 , and 2 million subscribers in September 2023. It has had a key role in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
2019
The deployment of the first 1,440 satellites was planned in 72 orbital planes of 20 satellites each, with a requested lower minimum elevation angle of beams to improve reception: 25° rather than the 40° of the other two orbital shells. SpaceX launched the first 60 satellites of the constellation in May 2019 into a 550 km (340 mi) orbit and expected up to six launches in 2019 at that time, with 720 satellites (12 × 60) for continuous coverage in 2020.
February 2019
In February 2019, a sister company of SpaceX, SpaceX Services Inc., filed a request with the FCC to receive a license for the operation of up to a million fixed satellite Earth stations that would communicate with its non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite Starlink system.
May 2019
The 60 Starlink v0.9 satellites, launched in May 2019, have the following characteristics:
June 2019
In June 2019, SpaceX applied to the FCC for a license to test up to 270 ground terminals – 70 nationwide across the United States and 200 in Washington state at SpaceX employee homes – and aircraft-borne antenna operation from four distributed United States airfields; as well as five ground-to-ground test locations.
October 2019
On 15 October 2019, the United States FCC submitted filings to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on SpaceX's behalf to arrange spectrum for 30,000 additional Starlink satellites to supplement the 12,000 Starlink satellites already approved by the FCC. That month, Musk publicly tested the Starlink network by using an Internet connection routed through the network to post a first tweet to social media site Twitter.
November 2019
On 20 November 2019, the four-meter (13') Blanco telescope of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) recorded strong signal loss and the appearance of 19 white lines on a DECam shot (right image). This image noise was correlated to the transit of a Starlink satellite train, launched a week earlier.
November 2019
The Starlink v1.0 satellites, launched since November 2019, have the following additional characteristics:
2020
Early designs had all phase 1 satellites in altitudes of around 1,100–1,300 km (680–810 mi). SpaceX initially requested to lower the first 1584 satellites, and in April 2020 requested to lower all other higher satellite orbits to about 550 km (340 mi). In April 2020, SpaceX modified the architecture of the Starlink network. SpaceX submitted an application to the FCC proposing to operate more satellites in lower orbits in the first phase than the FCC previously authorized. The first phase will still include 1,440 satellites in the first shell orbiting at 550 km (340 mi) in planes inclined 53.0°, with no change to the first shell of the constellation launched largely in 2020. SpaceX also applied in the United States for use of the E-band in their constellation The FCC approved the application in April 2021.
2020
In 2020, the Air Force utilized Starlink in support of its Advanced Battlefield management system during a live-fire exercise. They demonstrated Starlink connected to a "variety of air and terrestrial assets" including the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.
April 2020
On 17 April 2020, SpaceX wrote in an FCC filing that it would test new methods of mitigating light pollution, and also provide access to satellite tracking data for astronomers to "better coordinate their observations with our satellites". On 27 April 2020, Musk announced that the company would introduce a new sunshade designed to reduce the brightness of Starlink satellites. As of 15 October 2020 , over 200 Starlink satellites had a sunshade. An October 2020 analysis found them to be only marginally fainter than DarkSat. A January 2021 study pinned the brightness at 31% of the original design.
June 2020
In order to offer satellite services in any nation-state, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) regulations and long-standing international treaties require that landing rights be granted by each country jurisdiction, and within a country, by the national communications regulators. As a result, even though the Starlink network has near-global reach at latitudes below approximately 60°, broadband services can only be provided in 40 countries as of September 2022. SpaceX can also have business operation and economic considerations that may make a difference in which countries Starlink service is offered, in which order, and how soon. For example, SpaceX formally requested authorization for Canada only in June 2020, the Canadian regulatory authority approved it in November 2020, and SpaceX rolled out service two months later, in January 2021. As of September 2022, Starlink services were on offer in 40 countries, with applications pending regulatory approval in many more.
June 2020
The system does not directly connect from its satellites to handsets (like the constellations from Iridium, Globalstar, Thuraya and Inmarsat). Instead, it is linked to flat user terminals the size of a pizza box, which have phased array antennas and track the satellites. The terminals can be mounted anywhere, as long as they can see the sky. This includes fast-moving objects like trains. Photographs of the customer antennas were first seen on the internet in June 2020, supporting earlier statements by SpaceX CEO Musk that the terminals would look like a "UFO on a stick. Starlink Terminal has motors to self-adjust optimal angle to view sky". The antenna is known internally as "Dishy McFlatface".
July 2020
SpaceX has made applications to the FCC for at least 32 ground stations in United States, and as of July 2020 has approvals for five of them (in five states). Till February 2023 Starlink used the Ka-band to connect with ground stations. with the launch of v2 mini they added frequencies in the E band range.
September 2020
In September 2020, SpaceX applied for permission to put terminals on 10 of its ships with the expectation of entering the maritime market in the future.
October 2020
In October 2020, SDA awarded SpaceX an initial $150 million dual-use contract to develop 4 satellites to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The first batch of satellites were originally scheduled to launch September 2022 to form part of the Tracking Layer Tranche 0 of the Space Force's National Defense Space Architecture. The launch schedule slipped multiple times but eventually launched in April 2023.
October 2020
In October 2020, SpaceX launched a paid-for beta service in the U.S. called "Better Than Nothing Beta", charging $499 (equivalent to $519.7 in 2021) for a user terminal, with an expected service of "50 Mbps to 150 Mbps and latency from 20 ms to 40 ms over the next several months". From January 2021, the paid-for beta service was extended to other continents, starting with the United Kingdom.
November 2020
In November 2020, Starlink beta internet service was opened to the public. Starlink beta testers reported speeds over 150 megabits per second, above the range announced for the public beta test.
November 2020
On 6 November 2020, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced regulatory approval for the Starlink low Earth orbit satellite constellation.
2021
As per reports, Starlink service had $220 million and $1.4 billion revenue in 2021 and 2022.
2021
Early in the program, a near-miss occurred when SpaceX did not move a satellite that had a 1 in 1,000 chance of colliding with a European one, ten times higher than ESA's threshold for avoidance maneuvers. SpaceX subsequently fixed an issue with its paging system that had disrupted emails between ESA and SpaceX. ESA said it plans to invest in technologies to automate satellite collision avoidance maneuvers. In 2021, Chinese authorities lodged a complaint with the United Nations, saying their space station had performed evasive maneuvers that year to avoid Starlink satellites. In the document, Chinese delegates said that the continuously maneuvering Starlink satellites posed a risk of collision, and two close encounters with the satellites in July and October constituted dangers to the life or health of astronauts aboard the Chinese Tiangong space station.
January 2021
On 24 January 2021 SpaceX released a new group of 10 Starlink satellites, the first Starlink satellites in polar orbits. The launch surpassed ISRO's record of launching the most satellites in one mission (143), taking to 1,025 the cumulative number of satellites deployed for Starlink to that date.
January 2021
The Starlink v1.5 satellites, launched since 24 January 2021, have the following additional characteristics:
February 2021
In February 2021, SpaceX opened up pre-orders to the public. SpaceX completed raising an additional $3.5 billion in equity financing over the previous six months, to support the capital-intensive phase of the operational fielding of Starlink, plus the development of the Starship launch system. In April 2021, SpaceX clarified that they have already tested two generations of Starlink technology, with the second one having been less expensive than the first. The third generation, with laser inter-satellite links, is expected to begin launching "in the next few months [and will be] much less expensive than earlier versions".
February 2021
SpaceX was challenged regarding Starlink in February 2021 when the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), a political interest group representing traditional rural internet service providers, urged the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to "actively, and aggressively, and thoughtfully vet" the subsidy applications of SpaceX and other broadband providers. At the time, SpaceX had provisionally won $886 million for a commitment to provide service to approximately 643,000 locations in 35 states as part of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The NRECA criticisms included that the funding allocation to Starlink would include service to locations—such as Harlem and terminals at Newark Liberty International Airport and Miami International Airport—that are not rural, and because SpaceX was planning to build the infrastructure and serve any customers who request service with or without the FCC subsidy. Additionally, Jim Matheson, chief executive officer of the NRECA voiced concern about technologies that had not yet been proven to meet the high speeds required for the award category. Starlink was specifically criticized for being still in beta testing and for unproven technology.
March 2021
In March 2021, SpaceX submitted an application to the FCC for mobile variations of their terminal for vehicles, vessels and aircraft.
May 2021
According to a May 2021 study, "A large number of fast-moving transmitting stations (i.e. satellites) will cause further interference. New analysis methods could mitigate some of these effects, but data loss is inevitable, increasing the time needed for each study and limiting the overall amount of science done".
May 2021
In May 2021, SpaceX announced agreements with Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure to provide on-ground compute and networking services for Starlink. Viasat made a legal attempt to temporarily halt Starlink launches. In June 2021, SpaceX applied to the FCC to use mobile Starlink transceivers on launch vehicles flying to Earth orbit, after having previously tested high-altitude low-velocity mobile use on a rocket prototype in May 2021.
October 2021
By 1 October 2021, SpaceX had sold 5000 Starlink preorders in India, and announced that Sanjay Bhargava, who had worked with Musk as part of a team that founded electronic payment firm PayPal, would head the tech billionaire entrepreneur's Starlink satellite broadband venture in India. Three months later, Bhargava resigned "for personal reasons" following the Indian government ordering SpaceX to halt selling preorders for Starlink service until SpaceX gains regulatory approval for providing satellite internet services in the country.
2022
In 2022 SpaceX announced the Starlink Business service tier, a higher performance edition of the service. It provides a larger high-performance antenna and listed speeds of between 150 and 500 Mbit/s with a cost of $2500 for the antenna and a $500 monthly service fee. The service includes 24/7, prioritized support. Deliveries are advertised to begin in the second quarter of 2022. The FCC also approved the licensing of Starlink services to boats, aircraft, and moving vehicles. Starlink terminal production being delayed by the 2020–present global chip shortage led to only 5,000 subscribers for the first two months of 2022 but this was soon resolved.
2022
In 2022, SpaceX unveiled new variants of the Starlink service. On 23 May 2022, SpaceX rolled out Starlink For RVs, a service that lets customers pay more to skip waitlists to connect to its broadband satellites without a fixed address, although connection speeds for other users will be prioritized. On 7 July 2022 SpaceX announced Starlink Maritime, to help support users, and companies, on the ocean. Only working on the water, unable to work on land, the advertised speed for the service is set up to 350 Mbit/s. However it comes at the one time price of $10,000 for the two user terminals, and $5,000 monthly price.
2022
In the United States, Starlink charged, at launch, a one-time hardware fee of $599 for a user terminal and $120 per month for internet service at a fixed service address location. An additional $25 per month allows the user terminal to move beyond a fixed location (Starlink For RVs) but with service speeds deprioritized compared to the fixed users in that area. Fixed users are told to expect typical throughput of "50 Mbps to 150 Mbps and latency from 20 ms to 40 ms", a study found users averaged download speeds of 87 Mbit/s in 2022. A higher performance version of the service (Starlink Business) advertises speeds of 150 to 500 Mbit/s in exchange for a more costly $2,500 user terminal and a $500 monthly service fee. Another service called Starlink Maritime became available in July 2022 providing internet access on the open ocean, with speeds of 350 Mbit/s, requiring purchase of a maritime-grade $10,000 user terminal and a $5,000 monthly service fee.
2022
Japan's major mobile provider, KDDI, announced a partnership with SpaceX to begin offering in 2022 expanded connectivity for its rural mobile customers via 1,200 remote mobile towers.
2022
SpaceX hoped to begin launching Starlink v2.0 in 2022. As of May 2022 , SpaceX had said publicly that the satellites of second-generation (Gen2) constellation would need to be launched on Starship, as they are too large to fit inside a Falcon 9 fairing. However, in August 2022, SpaceX made formal regulatory filings with the FCC that indicated they would build satellites of the second-generation (Gen2) constellation in two different, but technically identical, form factors: one with the physical structures tailored to launching on Falcon 9, and one tailored for the launching on Starship. Starlink v2.0 is both larger and heavier than Starlink v1 satellites.
January 2022
In January 2022, SpaceX deployed four national security satellites for the US government on their Transporter-3 rideshare mission. In the same year they launched another group of four U.S. satellites with a single on-orbit spare Globalstar FM-15 satellite in June. Their purpose was not disclosed at the time of launch, but was considered likely either technical demonstration, communications, earth observation or signals intelligence.
February 2022
All these reported issues, plus current plans for the extension of the constellation, motivated a formal letter from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on behalf of NASA and the NSF, submitted to the FCC on 8 February 2022, warning about the potential impact on low Earth orbit, increased collision risk, impact on science missions, rocket launches, International Space Station and Radio frequencies.
February 2022
In February 2022, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a center to help astronomers deal with the adverse effects of satellite constellations such as Starlink. Work will include the development of software tools for astronomers, advancement of national and international policies, community outreach and work with industry on relevant technologies.
February 2022
On 26 February 2022, Musk announced that Starlink satellites had been activated over Ukraine after a request from the Ukrainian government to replace internet services destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
February 2022
On 3 February 2022, 49 satellites were launched as Starlink Group 4-7. A G2-rated geomagnetic storm occurred on 4 February, caused the atmosphere to warm and density at the low deployment altitudes to increase. Predictions were that up to 40 of the 49 satellites might be lost due to drag. After the event, 38 satellites reentered the atmosphere by 12 February while the remaining 11 were able to raise their orbits and avoid loss due to the storm.
April 2022
On 25 April 2022, Hawaiian Airlines announced an agreement with Starlink to provide free internet access on its aircraft, becoming the first airline to use Starlink. By July 2022, Starlink internet service was available in 36 countries and 41 markets.
May 2022
Also in May 2022, Chinese military researchers published an article in a peer-reviewed journal describing a strategy for destroying the Starlink constellation if they threaten national security. The researchers specifically highlight concerns with reported Starlink military capabilities. Musk later announced that "Starlink is meant for peaceful use... to mend the fault in our stars", referencing a quote from Julius Caesar, "Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." Suggesting Starlink could enforce peace by taking strategic initiative. The head of Russia's space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, had earlier warned Musk that "you will have to answer in an adult way, Elon, no matter how you play the fool".
May 2022
As of May 2022, the average Starlink satellite had conducted fewer than three collision-avoidance maneuvers over the 6 preceding months. Over 1,700 out of 6,873 maneuvers were performed to avoid Kosmos 1408 debris.
May 2022
In May 2022, Starlink entered the Philippine market, as the company's first deployment in Asia, due to a landmark legislative change (RA 11659, Public Services Act) about all-foreign allowance of company ownership in regards to utility entities such as internet and telco companies. Starlink was able to obtain a provisional permission from the country's Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DICT), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and soon began commercial services, aimed at regions with lower internet connectivity.
May 2022
In May 2022, it was announced that regulatory approval had been granted for Nigeria, Mozambique, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, commercial availability began on February 22, 2023.
June 2022
In June 2022, the IAU released a website for astronomers to deal with some adverse effects via satellite tracking. This will enable astronomers to be able to track satellites to be able to avoid and time them for minimal impact on current work.
August 2022
In August 2022 SpaceX lowered monthly service costs for users in select countries. For example, users in Brazil and Chile saw monthly fee decreases of about 50%.
August 2022
In August 2022 and in response to an open invitation from SpaceX to have the terminal examined by the security community, security specialist Lennert Wouters presented several technical architecture details about the then-current starlink terminals: the main control unit of the dish is a STMicroelectronics custom designed chip code-named Catson which is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53-based control processor running the Linux kernel and booted using U-Boot. The main processor uses several other custom chips such as a digital beam former named Shiraz and a front-end module named Pulsarad. The main control unit controls an array of digital beamformers. Each beamformer controls 16 front-end modules. In addition the terminal has a GPS receiver, motor controllers, synchronous clock generation and Power over Ethernet circuits, all manufactured by STMicroelectronics.
August 2022
In August 2022, SpaceX secured its first contract for services in the passenger shipping industry. Royal Caribbean Group has added Starlink internet to Freedom of the Seas and plans to offer the service on 50 ships under its Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands by March 2023. Starlink services on private jet charter flights in the US by JSX are expected to begin in late 2022, and Hawaiian Airlines has contracted to provide "Starlink services on transpacific flights to and from Hawaii in 2023."
August 2022
The FCC initially awarded SpaceX with $885.5 million worth of federal subsidies to support rural broadband customers through the company's Starlink satellite Internet network. SpaceX won subsidies to bring service to customers in 35 U.S. states. The $885.5 million aid package was revoked in August 2022, with the FCC stating that Starlink "failed to demonstrate" its ability to deliver the promised service. SpaceX later appealed the decision saying they met or surpassed all RDOF deployment requirements that existed during bidding and that the FCC created "new standards that no bidder could meet today".
September 2022
In September 2022, SpaceX sent out an email to users with pre-orders about a service called Best Effort. It allows those still waiting in a full capacity cell to receive the unused bandwidth of their cell, while still being on the waiting list for more prioritized service. The price and equipment are the same as the residential service coming in at $110 per month. In December, a monthly 1TB data cap was introduced to subscribers.
October 2022
Further, in October 2022, SpaceX redefined some early v2.0s so there are 3 different busses of v2.0s:
December 2022
In December 2022, SpaceX announced Starshield, a program to incorporate military or government entity payloads on board a customized satellite bus (potentially based on Starlink Block v1.5 and v2.0 technology ). These satellites are heavier, with twice the area as a single Starlink v1.5 and have two pair of solar arrays as opposed to one on Starlink Block v1.5. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for US government use, with an initial focus on three areas, namely, earth observation, communications and hosting payloads.
December 2022
On 1 December 2022, the FCC issued an approval for SpaceX to launch the initial 7500 satellites for its second-generation (Gen2) constellation, in three low-Earth-orbit orbital shells, at 525, 530, and 535 km altitude. Overall, SpaceX had requested approval for as many as 29,988 Gen2 satellites, with approximately 10,000 in the 525–535 km altitude shells, plus ~20,000 in 340–360 km shells and nearly 500 in 604–614-km shells. However, the FCC noted that this is not a net increase in approved on-orbit satellites for SpaceX since SpaceX is no longer planning to deploy 7518 V-band satellites at 340 km (210 mi) altitude that had previously been authorized.
2023
For a future service, T-Mobile US and SpaceX are partnering to add satellite cellular service capability to Starlink satellites. It will provide dead-zone cell phone coverage across the US using existing midband PCS spectrum that T-Mobile owns. Cell coverage will begin with messaging and expand to include voice and limited data services later, with testing to begin in 2023. T-Mobile plans to connect to Starlink satellites via existing mobile devices, unlike previous generations of satellite phones which used specialized radios, modems, and antennas to connect to satellites in higher orbits. Bandwidth will be limited to 2 to 4 megabits per second total, split across a very large cell coverage area, which would be limited to thousands of voice calls or millions of text messages simultaneously in a coverage area. The size of a single coverage cell has not yet been publicly released.
2023
In March 2023, SpaceX confirmed that they remain on track to begin testing the service in 2023.
2023
In March 2023, the company reported that they were manufacturing six Starlink "V2 Mini" satellites per day as well as thousands of users terminals. The V2 Mini has Gen2 Starlink satellite features while being assembled in a smaller form factor than the larger Gen2 sats. The Gen2 satellites require the 9-meter-diameter Starship in order to launch them. The Starlink business unit had a single cash-flow-positive quarter during 2022, and is expecting to be profitable in 2023.
2023
Sales are capped to a few hundred fixed users per 20 km "service cell area" due to limited wireless capacity. Starlink alternatively offers a Best Effort service tier allowing homes in capped areas to receive the current unused bandwidth of their cell while they are on the waiting list for more prioritized service. The price and equipment are the same as the residential service at $110 per month. To improve the service quality in densely populated areas, Starlink introduced a monthly 1TB data cap for all non-business users which became enforced in 2023.
February 2023
In February 2023 it was reported that Starlink had 95,000 subscribers in Australia. As of May 2023, Starlink reported over 1.5 million active subscribers.
February 2023
The first batch of Generation 2 spacecraft was launched in February 2023. These satellites are referred to as "Mini" because they are smaller than the full-sized Gen 2 spacecraft that will come later. SpaceX uses brightness mitigation for Gen 2 that includes a mirror-like surface which reflects sunlight back into space and they orient the solar panels so that observers on the ground only see the dark sides. The Minis are fainter than Gen 1 spacecraft despite being four times as large according to an observational study published in June 2023, being 19% as bright as Gen 1 when placed in the final "brightness-mitigated" orbit. Minis appear 12 times brighter before they reach the target orbit.
February 27, 2023
With the unknown of when Starship will be able to launch the second generation satellites, SpaceX modified the original V2 blueprint into a smaller, more compact one named "V2 Mini". This adjustment, allowed Falcon 9 to transport these satellites, though not as many, into orbit. The first set of 21 of these satellites was launched on February 27, 2023. SpaceX committed to reducing debris by keeping the Starlink tension rods, which hold the V2 mini-satellites together, attached to the Falcon 9 second stage. These tension rods were discarded into orbit while launching an earlier versions of Starlink satellites. Observations confirm these V2 mini-satellites host two solar panels like the Starship V2 satellites.
March 2023
In March 2023 SpaceX submitted an application to add V-band payload to the second generation satellites rather than fly phase 2 V-band satellites as originally planned and authorized. The request is subject to FCC approval.
April 2023
In April 2023, One NZ (formerly Vodafone New Zealand) announced that they would be partnering with SpaceX's Starlink to provide 100% mobile network coverage over New Zealand. SMS text service is expected to begin in 2024, with voice and data functionality coming in 2025. In July 2023, Optus in Australia announced a similar partnership.
April 2023
It is suspected as per the images, that the two SpaceX-built Starlink derived Space Development Agency Tranche 0 Flight 1 Tracking Layer infrared imaging satellites launched on 2 April 2023 are also based on the Starshield satellite bus.
May 2023
The number of subscribers of Starlink has reached 1.5 million as of May 2023. The number of subscribers as per information available is given below for each year in first half (H1) and second half (H2) of that year.
June 2023
In June 2023, a license to offer internet services in Zambia was granted to Starlink by the Zambian Government through its Electronic Government Division – SMART Zambia, following the completion of many prosperous trial projects throughout the nation.
June 2023
Musk has warned that the service was costing $20 million per month, and a Ukrainian official estimated SpaceX's contributions as over $100 million. In June 2023, the DoD signed a contract with SpaceX to finance Starlink use in Ukraine.
July 2023
In July 2023, the Mongolian government issued two licenses to SpaceX to provide internet access in the country.
September 2023
In September 2023 the US-based United Against Nuclear Iran started donating subscriptions and terminals to Iranians to allow them to circumvent Iran's internet blackout.
Late 2023
SpaceX filed documents in late 2017 with the FCC to clarify their space debris mitigation plan, under which the company was to:
Late 2023
The satellites will employ optical inter-satellite links and phased array beam-forming and digital processing technologies in the Ku and Ka microwave bands (super high frequency [SHF] to extremely high frequency [EHF]), according to documents filed with the U.S. FCC. While specifics of the phased array technologies have been disclosed as part of the frequency application, SpaceX enforced confidentiality regarding details of the optical inter-satellite links. Early satellites were launched without laser links. The inter-satellite laser links were successfully tested in late 2020.
