SpaceX seeks permission to launch 30,000 more satellites
SpaceX has bet its future on a network of small satellites that could beam the internet down to Earth. This month, the company’s plans got a whole lot bigger.
Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX has requested permission from an international regulatory group to operate as many as 30,000 satellites at a specific frequency, power level and location in space. The company received permission from the U.S. government to operate about 12,000 satellites and launched 60 initial satellites in May.
The new batch of 30,000 satellites is set to be in orbits ranging from about 200 miles to 360 miles above the Earth, according to filings submitted Oct. 7 to the International Telecommunication Union, which allocates radio spectrum and satellite orbits. The filings did not include details of when the satellites would be launched.
A SpaceX spokesperson said in a statement that the company was taking steps to “responsibly scale” the total network capacity and data density to “meet the growth in users’ anticipated needs.”
SpaceX makes its money by launching satellites for commercial and government customers and ferrying cargo for NASA to the International Space Station. But CEO Elon Musk has said SpaceX’s launch revenue probably tapers off at about $3 billion a year.
The global internet connectivity market, on the other hand, is worth about $1 trillion. Mr. Musk has estimated that with the company’s Starlink satellite constellation, SpaceX could capture at least 3%, or $30 billion, of that sector.
Mr. Musk also intends to use revenue from Starlink to fund his passion project: a Mars spaceship known as Starship that would be capable of ferrying up to 100 people to the red planet. The company has started building prototypes of that spaceship in Texas and Florida, and Mr. Musk estimated last month that a test launch reaching 60,000 feet in altitude could occur soon.
“SpaceX is relying on Starlink to provide a lot of profit for them,” said Laura Forczyk, owner of space consulting firm Astralytical. “They have a lot of ambitious projects going on that they need funding for.”
But the company faces daunting technical challenges to build the high-tech satellite components cheaply enough to be affordable for users, with a level of reliability that can place it above competitors on the ground and in the sky.
Several other broadbandbeaming satellite constellations have either launched or are in the works, including London’s OneWeb, which is backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. and British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has also entered the race with its Project Kuiper and asked the Federal Communications Commission in July for permission to launch more than 3,200 satellites.
With this in mind, part of SpaceX’s goal in filing for 30,000 satellites may be to prevent competitors from taking its desired orbit and frequency first.
The large number of proposed satellites might also be to ensure seamless global coverage that can provide high data rates and increased reliability, said Kerri Cahoy, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.
SpaceX said it planned to offer service in the northern part of the U.S. and Canada as early as next year, with global coverage of more populated areas after 24 satellite launches, or a total of 1,440 satellites in orbit. More satellites could mean the company wants to serve more users, particularly in areas that are rural and have few options for internet access.
Mr. Musk said in May that SpaceX had not yet signed up any customers because it wanted to wait until the system was working well.