But they’re too big to launch for now.
The Gen2 satellite is considerably larger than themore than 2,500Starlink satellites now orbiting340 milesabove the Earth’s surface.
By contrast, the first-generation satellites weigh 573 pounds, or about one-fifth as much as Gen2.
Starship is themost powerful rocketever built.
It’s made up of two stages: a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and an upper-stage called Starship.
SpaceX’s progress on Gen2 shows how much further along Starlink is when compared with its competitors.
Amazon’sProject Kuiperisn’t off the ground.
Canada’s Telesat has 188 LEO satellites in space but is facingproduction delays.
Starlink has already brought high-speed internet for manyrural communitiesout of reach of broadband.
Demand is growing in different parts of the world for Starlink service.
Gen2 satellites are “almost an order of magnitude” greater than first-generation units, Musk said.
Some Chinese researchers are worried by Starlink’s rapid progress.
The space agency isn’t suggesting that SpaceX stop its work but that it conduct testing to prevent collisions.
Astronomers fear that satellite megaconstellations willobscure the night skywhen they attempt to capture long-exposure imagery.
Starlink’s satellite internet service continues to grow and now reaches32 countriesand the Earth’spoles.
Correction, June 1: Starlink is a division of SpaceX.
