Starlink, the satellite internet network company, has recently received approval from the Federal Communications Commission of the United States to launch 7,500 Starlink Gen2 satellites into space.
Currently, Starlink already has 7,500 Gen2 satellites in space, and the approval of this additional satellite will increase that number to 15,000 satellites, which is expected to increase the speed of the satellite internet network, while reducing the latency of the network.
Starlink has a plan to launch 30,000 Gen2 satellites into space, and now, it seems that half of that number will be successfully launched. The additional satellites depend on how quickly approval can be issued for them.
With this approval, the FCC said that half of the approved satellites must be operational by December 1, 2028, and the rest must be launched and operational by December 1, 2031.
In addition to this approval, the FCC also approved the launch of satellites in a lower orbit, at an altitude of 340-365km and they are allowed to use the frequency range of 1910-1915 MHz for uplink and 1990-1995 MHz for downlink in the United States.
For other countries, Starlink will need to seek permission from their respective national communications agencies to use specific spectrum at those altitudes if permitted.
