The FCC approved SpaceX’s plan to launch an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites on Friday. That brings the total number of satellites the company will have in orbit to around 15,000 worldwide. As part of the approval, the government is also waiving previous requirements that prevented overlapping coverage and enhanced capacity.
SpaceX originally sought approval for 30,000 satellites, but for now, the FCC is only greenlighting 15,000. The company will be on a deadline, too. The government says 50 percent of the Gen2 satellites must be launched and operational by December 1st of 2028, with the rest to follow by December of 2031. But the company seems plenty satisfied with the outcome. Musk and the administration had a pretty public falling out earlier this year, but it seems like the X owner has been mending that relationship.
That many new satellites in orbit is likely to raise concerns from astronomers who have complained about light pollution, as well as increase worries over space junk and orbital collisions. (The company already had to lower the orbit of many of its satellites earlier this year to reduce the risk of collisions.) But the promise of direct-to-cell connectivity outside the US, as well as internet speeds of up to 1 Gbps, apparently won out.