Starlink: soon 2,000 satellites sent into orbit, but still some big challenges

This January 6, SpaceX should make its first takeoff of the year, with a new “cluster” of Starlink satellites. In just over two years, that will soon represent 2,000 satellites sent.

But things are stuck in India, and a new generation of satellites is expected soon. Launch scheduled for tomorrow!

Satellites as if it were raining

Of the 4,400 satellites of the Starlink constellation expected at an altitude of 550 kilometers, the company is making regular progress. And if the pace of takeoffs is no longer that of early 2021, Starlink launches represent a significant part of SpaceX’s flight manifesto, as evidenced by this first shot of 2022!

The Californian firm did not specify how many units would be present under the fairing (between 48 and 53 on the last shots), but it should practically reach the 2,000 satellites sent in all, since 1,944 of them the have already been at the end of 2021. However, some of the first units and those that have failed have been de-orbited, or are in the process of deorbiting, and there would actually only be 1,468 active Starlink satellites to transmit the Internet to users. It is still a record figure.

The numbers are improving

2022 should be a year of consolidation for the Starlink constellation. In mid-December, Jonathan Hofeller, Starlink’s vice president of operations, explained that the service was now counting “ well over 100,000 »Users, individuals and companies, in 20 different countries. An impressive figure, but which remains far from profitability for the mega-constellation.

The figures have not been officially mentioned, but they should briskly exceed 500,000 regular users. Right now, the service is losing a lot of money, although SpaceX regularly allows itself very impressive funding. As long as the outlook is good …

There are still many challenges, on the ground and in the air

Starlink also suffered from a rough patch in India recently. Indeed, SpaceX did not succeed in obtaining the sesame to be an operator on site, and the pre-orders will have to be reimbursed. The head of the company there, Sanjay Bhargava, resigned at the end of December.

Too bad, because the latter had publicly said to expect up to 200,000 Indian customers in the years to come. Despite this setback, it is possible that it is only partly postponed … Unless it is also a political influence, the competitor of Starlink, OneWeb being mainly owned by Bharti Global, Indian operator. Still, OneWeb is not really an operator and is positioned more on the network.

This is of course not the only challenge for Starlink in 2022. To the ever more urgent alerts on the need for regulation in relation to ever more congested space traffic (China in particular complained of having to maneuver its space station inhabited at the end of December), SpaceX should deploy an optimized generation of satellites by the end of the year. Rumors are rife, but they are expected with more powerful antennas, improved processing capacities, inter-satellite links and better maneuvering tools.

Source: SpaceFlightNow