(Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)
SpaceX has been promising to bring 1Gbps download speeds to Starlink as far back as 2016. But the company appears to be closer to making gigabit speeds a reality, following SpaceX’s successful test flight of its Starship vehicle on Sunday.
During the test flight, SpaceX was able to “catch” the booster rocket during the landing phase, overcoming a major hurdle to making the world’s most powerful rocket a reusable vehicle.
The company still has more work to do before Starship can begin actual missions, including to the Moon. Nevertheless, the successful test flight sparked a SpaceX executive to tweet about its significance for Starlink, the company’s satellite internet system.
“The next generation Starlink satellite will launch on Starship and deliver gigabit connectivity anywhere in the world. We got one step closer to that reality today with an amazing Flight 5!” Michael Nicolls, VP of Starlink Engineering, said on Sunday.
Starlink has long aimed for gigabit speeds, even aiming to deliver 10Gbps downloads to users. But since it began serving users, Starlink’s internet speeds in the US have mostly ranged from 50Mbps to around 250Mbps, depending on the location.
To improve the speeds, the company previously said it needs Starship to help it deploy next-generation "V3" Starlink satellites, which will likely be heavier. The goal is for Starship to carry between 50 to 100 Starlink satellites per flight.
(Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)The company may have recently revealed a bit more about these V3 satellites. On Friday, SpaceX requested that the FCC make “several small but meaningful updates” to its second-generation Starlink network.
"Together, this modification and its companion amendment will enable the Gen2 system to deliver gigabit-speed, truly low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity to all Americans and the billions of people globally who still lack access to adequate broadband,” the company wrote in the filing.
The request includes lowering the Starlink satellites from "525 km, 530 km, and 535 km to 480 km, 485 km, and 475 km" in altitude. In addition, SpaceX wants the Starlink satellites to harness the E-band radio frequencies in the "71-74 GHz (downlink) and 81-84 GHz (uplink) bands" to help the company better deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband to users, including through fixed satellite dishes and mobile equipment.
"The upgraded Gen2 system will feature enhanced hardware that can use higher gain and more advanced beamforming and digital processing technologies and provide more targeted and robust coverage for American consumers,” the request adds. “As a result, these upgraded satellites can maximize the use of the available bandwidth, enabling more efficient allocation of resources and facilitating a broader range of services.”
SpaceX also says the modifications won’t create radio interference with other networks. But competitors might dissent, as they have before, and urge the FCC to reject the request.