SpaceX files paperwork to launch 30,000 more Starlink satellites

Space is about to get a low more crowded as various companies are planning to launch thousands of satellites to provide global Internet coverage. One of the biggest names here is SpaceX. The space flight firm from Elon Musk already launched 60 Starlink satellites earlier this year and plans two to six more launches before the end of this year. SpaceX has permission from the FCC to deploy up to 11,943 satellites and now the company is seeking permission to launch another 30,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Truly a staggering number considering the total number of satellite launches since the late 1950s is about 8,900. An estimated 5,000 of these are still in orbit and about 1,900 of those are still in operation.

The goal of SpaceX is to provide global Internet coverage, with high bandwidth and low latency. These satellites have a far lower orbit than typical communication satellites so they're able to offer much better latency. The Starlink satellites operate at altitudes ranging from 328km to 580km.

SpaceX is facing competition in the nascent low-Earth satellite broadband market from OneWeb, Space Norway, Telesat, and Amazon. Broadband delivered by low-Earth satellites should provide faster speeds and lower latencies than traditional satellites, which orbit at much higher altitudes. SpaceX has said it intends to provide gigabit speeds and latency as low as 25ms, but the company hasn't revealed how much the service will cost.

More details ARS Technica. Starlink is expected to become a big revenue earner for SpaceX, which will help it to fuel its Mars dreams.