SpaceX Drops Good News on Starlink Satellites: Starship Deployment, Major Upgrades Teased!

SpaceX filed an amended application to the FCC and proposed to use Starship spacecraft for Starlink satellite improvement. This new plan teased big improvements for Starlink users, including faster internet speeds and bigger service coverage globally.

In these last few years, SpaceX conceptualized an advanced broadband internet system delivered by satellites orbiting around Earth. To emphasize, thousands of satellites would be launched in the program that would mimic constellations found in the skies. That internet provider is now called Starlink satellite system, which entered its beta phase in April 2020.

Although reasons may vary, many beta testers enjoyed the Starlink internet service provider. Its current speeds reportedly run at 50Mbps to 150Mbps at a latency from 20ms to 40ms. However, these numbers would eventually improve as Starlink progresses its development.

On Wednesday, SpaceX wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about their "Amendment to [the] Pending Application for the SpaceX Gen2 NGSO Satellite System." As previously mentioned, SpaceX wants to use its incoming rocket to deploy more satellites to space.

What Is SpaceX Starship?

Starship is a human landing system (HLS) developed by SpaceX in their pitch for NASA's next big mission to the moon. This is a massive rocket built with a fully reusable launch system. Ideally, this spaceship should be strong enough to survive the harsh space environment.

However, the evidence is yet to be seen. SpaceX Starship is still in development, with no date of completion. All news on this rocket, including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's tweets, indicate that the rocket is still in its construction and testing phase.

SpaceX Starship Responsible for Starlink Satellites Launch

The idea SpaceX proposed is simple: a bigger rocket means a higher payload. Starship would also have the ability to deploy satellites on their operational orbit in weeks instead of months. These two features should significantly speed up the progress for Starlink satellite deployment.

For reference, Starlink has more or less 1300 satellites launched in space. However, they received prior approval from the FCC to launch 12,000 satellites total. Starlink satellite system is conceptualized to have more than 29,988 satellites, which might further increase depending on their customers.

If Starship would be used to deploy the Starlink satellites, PCmag highlighted two configurations to the process. First, Starship could position the satellites in "multiple inclinations to more evenly spread capacity by latitude, ensuring better, more consistent global coverage." Second, it will double the number of satellites deployed in a "sun synchronous orbit optimized for service to polar regions" so their internet service could reach areas like Alaska.

PCmag reported that SpaceX also filed a secondary plan for the Starlink Satellite deployment. The company plans to use reusable Falcon 9 rockets to deploy 60 next-generation Starlink satellites.

If the filed application is approved, Starlink might deliver high internet speed to the rural and remote regions north of Earth.