SpaceX Gets US Approval to Deploy up to 7,500 Satellites - Voice of America - VOA News

washington — 

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said connected Thursday it approved SpaceX's bid to deploy up to 7,500 satellites but enactment connected clasp different decisions.

SpaceX's Starlink, a fast-growing web of much than 3,500 satellites successful low-Earth orbit, has tens of thousands of users successful the United States truthful far, with consumers paying astatine slightest $599 for a idiosyncratic terminal and $110 a period for service. The FCC successful 2018 approved SpaceX plans to deploy up to 4,425 first-generation satellites.

SpaceX has sought support to run a web of 29,988 satellites, to beryllium known arsenic its “second-generation” oregon Gen2 Starlink constellation to beam the net to areas with small oregon nary net access.

"Our enactment volition let SpaceX to statesman deployment of Gen2 Starlink, which volition bring adjacent procreation outer broadband to Americans nationwide," the FCC said successful its support order, adding it "will alteration worldwide outer broadband service, helping to adjacent the integer disagreement connected a planetary scale."

The FCC said its determination "will support different outer and terrestrial operators from harmful interference and support a harmless abstraction environment" and support "spectrum and orbital resources for aboriginal use."

In August, a U.S. appeals tribunal upheld the 2021 determination of the FCC to o.k. a SpaceX program to deploy immoderate Starlink satellites astatine a little Earth orbit than planned arsenic portion of its propulsion to connection space-based broadband internet.

In September, SpaceX challenged the FCC determination to contradict it $885.5 cardinal successful agrarian broadband subsidies. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said successful August that Starlink’s exertion “has existent promise” but it could not conscionable the program’s requirements, citing information that showed a dependable diminution successful speeds implicit the past twelvemonth and casting the service’s terms arsenic excessively steep for consumers.