SpaceX recently filed a request to launch 30,000 more Starlink satellites to space. (Photo Credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, a massive internet network based in space, may be expanding in the future.
The company recently requested permission from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to launch 30,000 more Starlink satellites, SpaceNews reported.
SpaceX’s Starlink constellation was introduced as a space-based internet project that involved 12,000 satellites, Engadget noted. The Us Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the ITU already gave SpaceX the green light for the 12,000 Starlink satellites. Now, the company would like to grow its Starlink constellation so people can access better internet all over the world.
“As demand escalates for fast, reliable internet around the world, especially for those where connectivity is nonexistent, too expensive, or unreliable, SpaceX is taking steps to responsibly scale Starlink’s total network capacity and data density to meet the growth in users’ anticipated needs,” SpaceX told MIT Technology Review in a press statement.
The FCC sent in 20 filings to the ITU for the Starlink constellation expansion. Each filing requested permission to launch 1,500 satellites in different low Earth orbits that range from 204 to 360 miles.
Less than 24 hours after SpaceX’s launch of the first 60 Starlink satellites, amateur astronomer Dr. @Marco_Langbroek captured them streaking over the Netherlands [full story: https://t.co/0DDE0TCfI1] pic.twitter.com/boTrocB0e3
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 25, 2019
There are some concerns over the Starlink constellation though: Roger Thompson of the Aerospace Corporation told MIT Technology Review that even though the altitudes described above are where space is the most free from debris, it is also an area where crewed spacecraft, including the International Space Station, tend to fly. SpaceX will have to consider these challenges while it plans to grow the Starlink constellation.
In May, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This group of satellites was the first batch part of the company’s Starlink constellation, which aims to provide internet access to people who live in remote regions across the globe.
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