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Starlink

This article is about the SpaceX satellite internet service. For other uses, see Starlink (disambiguation).

Starlink
A batch of small satellites attached to the rocket with the Earth in the background
60 Starlink satellites stacked together before deployment on May 24, 2019
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
OperatorStarlink Services, LLC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX)
ApplicationsInternet service
Websitewww.starlink.com Edit this at Wikidata
ASN
Specifications
Spacecraft typeSmall satellite
Launch mass
  • v0.9: 227 kg (500 lb)
  • v1: 260 kg (570 lb)
  • v1.5: ~306 kg (675 lb)[1]
  • v2 mini: ~740 kg (1,630 lb)
  • v2: ~1,250 kg (2,760 lb)[2]
Equipment
Regime
Production
Status
  • Active since 2019 (2019)
  • Paying customers since Oct 26, 2020 (Oct 26, 2020)[3]

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX,[4] providing coverage to over 100 countries and territories. It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.[5] Starlink has been instrumental to SpaceX's growth.[6]

SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of September 2024, the constellation consists of over 7,000 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO)[7] that communicate with designated ground transceivers. Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 34,400. SpaceX announced reaching more than 1 million subscribers in December 2022[8] and 4 million subscribers in September 2024.[9]

The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington, houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing, and orbit control facilities. In May 2018, SpaceX estimated the total cost of designing, building and deploying the constellation would be at least US$10 billion.[10] Revenues from Starlink in 2022 were reportedly $1.4 billion accompanied by a net loss, with a small profit being reported that began only in 2023.[11] Revenue is expected to reach $6.6 billion in 2024.[12]

Starlink has been extensively used in the Russo-Ukrainian War, a role for which it has been contracted by the United States Department of Defense.[13] Starshield, a military version of Starlink, is designed for government use.[14][15]

Astronomers raised concerns about the effect the constellation may have on ground-based astronomy, and how the satellites will contribute to an already congested orbital environment.[16][17] SpaceX has attempted to mitigate astronometric interference concerns with measures to reduce the satellites' brightness during operation.[18] The satellites are equipped with Hall-effect thrusters allowing them to raise their orbit, station-keep, and de-orbit at the end of their lives. They are also designed to autonomously and smoothly avoid collisions based on uplinked tracking data.[19]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sfn-212306 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ @Starlink (October 26, 2024). "The Starlink team turned on service for our first paying customer four years ago today! Since then, we have connected 4M+ people, businesses and other organizations with high-speed internet all across the world, and for the first time 4 astronauts flying around it 🛰️🐉🌎❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ SpaceX (February 3, 2021). "Petition of Starlink Services, LLC for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 29, 2024. As the Commission knows, SpaceX assigned its winning RDOF bids to Starlink Services, its wholly-owned subsidiary, on December 22, 2020. An intercompany agreement provides Starlink Services, LLC with access to all space and terrestrial assets and infrastructure needed from SpaceX to deploy and operate the Starlink service.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnbc-20220825 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Foust, Jeff (May 28, 2024). "The Space Review: Starlink's disruption of the space industry". The Space Review. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  6. ^ McDowell, Jonathan (January 3, 2024). "Starlink Launch Statistics". Jonathan's Space Pages. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  7. ^ @SpaceX (December 19, 2022). "Starlink now has more than 1,000,000 active subscribers" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sep2024Subscribers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference nsf20180517 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Maidenberg, Micah; Winkler, Rolfe (September 13, 2023). "Starlink Surges but Is Still Far Short of SpaceX's Goals, Documents Show". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Berger, Eric (May 10, 2024). "Analyst on Starlink's rapid rise: "Nothing short of mind-blowing"". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  12. ^ Macias, Amanda; Sheetz, Michael (June 1, 2023). "Pentagon awards SpaceX with Ukraine contract for Starlink satellite internet". CNBC. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :starshieldsite was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference :starshieldSheetz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Drake, Nadia (May 29, 2019). "Will Elon Musk's Starlink satellites harm astronomy? Here's what we know". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "JASON Report on the Impacts of Large Satellite Constellations". National Science Foundation. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  17. ^ "Astronomy Discussion with National Academy of Sciences" (Press release). SpaceX. April 28, 2020. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

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