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Why it's important: As the race for a satellite Internet heats up, SpaceX has won another complex regulatory battle. Despite concerns about interference and collisions, the Federal Communications Commission has let SpaceX change its plan, bringing 1,584 future satellites of 1,150 km to just 550 km.
SpaceX's next satellite Internet network, Starlink, will pair thousands of satellites with one million ground stations to provide Internet access to the world. Half of the necessary satellites will be launched by 2024, which will limit commercial deployment in three to five years.
In March, the FCC approved the first batch of satellites: 4425 satellites in orbit between 1100 km (1385 km) and 1325 km (825 km). In November, SpaceX received approval for the second batch, 7518 satellites in orbit at 345 km. However, SpaceX then launched a key and requested that 1584 satellites of the first series be redirected for 550 km, which the FCC finally approved.
SpaceX is now fully licensed to launch and use Starlink's 11,924 satellites.
"This approval underscores the FCC's confidence in SpaceX's plans to deploy its next-generation satellite constellation and connect people around the world with reliable, affordable broadband service," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. .
The first two Starlink demonstration satellites, called Tintin A & B, are deployed and communicate with earth stations pic.twitter.com/TfI53wHEtz
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2018
Using their TinTin A and B test satellites, SpaceX has learned that lowering the orbit reduces the number of satellites needed by sixteen and makes them much easier to get into the Earth's atmosphere, allowing them to burn before the cleaning time. It also reduces latency to only 15 milliseconds, 1/67 of a second.
Of course, there are also risks: a higher risk of collision with other satellites and the potential for jamming signals for other networks. The FCC responded with the following: "SpaceX's claims, because all of its satellites are powered and maneuverable to avoid collisions, are considered safe for other satellites in this orbital region." With respect to the latter, they simply stated the approval was in the public interest.
SpaceX plans to launch the first batch of production satellites sometime next month. However, they had better be faster: Amazon also took the bandwagon, as did Keplar Communications, Telesat Canada, LeoSat, OneWeb, Boeing and Facebook.
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