SpaceX wants Starlink 2.0 up and running by 2023

SpaceX wants a second generation of Starlink satellites – baptize starlink 2.0 by Elon Musk himself – to begin work before the end of 2022. This is evidenced by a recent request from an aerospace firm to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

spacenews states that SpaceX has requested a special temporary authorization for 60 days to start connecting existing Starlink customers to their second generation satellites. At least until the agency finally approves the deployment of Starlink 2.0.

The regulatory filings with the FCC indicate that SpaceX is waiting to begin launching its Gen2 satellites. “until the end of December 2022”. However, no more specific dates were mentioned to reach this goal, and there is not much headroom before the beginning of 2023.

The request was completed on December 16, so the Elon Musk company decided to work in a rather ambitious time window. A day later SpaceX announced the launch and deployment of 54 new satellitesalthough he did not specify if these were the same Starlink 2.0s.

In its filing with the FCC, the company explained that granting a special temporary authorization would allow Starlink users to access the benefits of version 2.0 of the satellite internet service, “as soon as their satellites are deployed.” In any case, the body has not yet announced whether it intends to approve it or not.

Starlink 2.0 is already approved for deployment, but with restrictions

So it’s very clear. SpaceX is asking the FCC to approve it. start connecting your customers to Starlink 2.0. Permission to launch and operate second-generation satellites was received in early December.

At the time, the FCC approved that the US firm had put 7,500 new satellites into orbit. That is, 25% of the constellation that Elon Musk claims, which is almost 30,000.

The intention behind the launch of Starlink 2.0 is not only to provide faster browsing speeds and a more reliable service for customers who are already paying for it, but also to expand its global reach. To this we must add the expansion of the satellite Internet platform to provide communication with aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and even mobile devices.

SpaceX ensures that Starlink already has a million active users, but it needs to strengthen its infrastructure to reach more people. In the US and Canada, the increase in the number of customers has already led to a decrease in the average download speed.

As for the second generation satellites, they are much larger than the original ones. new equipment they measure 7 x 3 meters, compared to 2.8 x 1.4 meters of its predecessors, not counting deployed solar arrays. In addition, they are four times heavier; but also more efficient. “Just think about how many useful bits each satellite can transmit. Starlink 2.0 is almost an order of magnitude better than Starlink 1.0 in terms of useful data bits,” said Elon Musk.

SpaceX’s original intention was to launch the second generation of Starlink satellites. using a Starship rather than a Falcon 9 rocket. However, the heavy machine has not yet been able to make its first orbital test flight, which complicates the picture somewhat. “We need Starship to work and fly often, otherwise Starlink 2.0 will be stuck on the ground,” the tycoon said.