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SpaceX manufacturing 120 Starlink satellites per month, an unprecedented rate for the space industry

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GRAPHIC CREDITS: MIKE BLAKE/BUSINESS INSIDER 

According to CNBC, SpaceX is manufacturing its Starlink satellites at an unprecedented rate for the space industry. ~

Starlink is SpaceX’s plan to build an interconnected network of about 12,000 small satellites, to create high-speed internet from orbit to anywhere in the world. SpaceX told the Federal Communications Commission in a presentation last month that its Starlink unit is “now building 120 satellites per month” and has “invested over $70 million developing and producing thousands of consumer user terminals per month.” SpaceX has already launched nearly 600 Starlink satellites and is currently building a system of ground stations and user terminals, to connect consumers directly to its network. ~

Quilty Analytics founder Chris Quilty said that Starlink manufacturing is happening at a speed never before seen in the satellite sector. “To put it in perspective, Iridium, which previously held the record for the largest commercial satellite constellation, was manufacturing satellites at the rate of about six satellites per month at the peak of production,” Quilty said (MSN). ~

SpaceX is launching its Starlink satellites once a month with its Falcon 9 rocket fleets. SpaceX hopes, however, to bring online its Starship launch vehicle as soon as possible as it can carry more satellites. “At 60 satellites per Falcon 9, SpaceX is … driven to bring its Starship launch vehicle online as soon as it can, as the company says each will be able to carry 400 Starlink satellites at a time,” Bryce Space and Technology senior space analyst Phil Smith told CNBC. ~

Last week, SpaceX told the Federal Communications Commission it is already seeing “extraordinary demand” from people interested in Starlink’s internet service. The company said “nearly 700,000 individuals” across the United States said they were interested in the service, causing SpaceX to request that the Federal Communications Commission increase the number of user terminals from 1 million to 5 million (CNBC). ~

ARTICLE: KYLE SMITH

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