SpaceX Wins FCC Approval to Launch 7,500 Starlink Satellites
- Company plans larger fleet to boost broadband from space
- Viasat among objectors; cited collision risk from vast fleet
Elon Musk
Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
US regulators partially approved plans by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to operate another massive fleet of Starlink satellites, giving the company the go-ahead to launch 7,500 of a proposed constellation of nearly 30,000 satellites.
The Federal Communications Commission announced the step in an order and authorization notice published Thursday. SpaceX has approval to operate these next generation Starlink satellites, known as Gen 2, at three altitudes between 326 miles (525 kilometers) and 332 miles, according to the notice. The FCC said it’s deferring “action on the remainder of SpaceX’s application at this time.”