FCC approves 7,500 additional Starlink satellites
The Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 9 approved a second tranche of 7,500 Starlink Gen2 satellites, expanding the size of SpaceX's authorized next-generation constellation.
The commission said it authorized SpaceX to deploy and operate 7,500 additional Gen2 satellites, bringing the total number of approved Gen2 spacecraft to 15,000. The approval comes a little more than three years after the FCC authorized an initial group of 7,500 Gen2 satellites.
"By authorizing 15,000 new and advanced satellites, the FCC has given SpaceX the green light to deliver unprecedented satellite broadband capabilities, strengthen competition and help ensure that no community is left behind," FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement.
SpaceX has proposed deploying 29,988 satellites in a variety of low Earth orbits. However, the FCC is authorizing the constellation in stages rather than approving the full request at once.
"While SpaceX requests action on its entire proposed 29,988-satellite constellation, we proceed incrementally here," the commission stated in its order approving the second set of satellites.
Subscribe TodayGet unlimited access to SpaceNews.com and our digital magazine with a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription.
Discounted Access Learn more about savings available for academic, government and military readers on SpaceNews subscriptions.
The order authorizes satellites in orbits between 340 and 485 kilometers, with inclinations ranging from 28 to 96.9 degrees. It also includes previously authorized satellites operating at 525 and 535 kilometers, noting that SpaceX plans to move those spacecraft to lower orbits. The FCC authorized SpaceX to relocate those satellites to orbits between 475 and 485 kilometers.
The newly authorized satellites feature what the FCC described as "advanced form factors" that differ from earlier Starlink spacecraft, but the commission did not provide details. In an update at the end of 2025, SpaceX said it plans to begin deploying larger V3 satellites in 2026 using its Starship launch vehicle, with each satellite capable of providing more than one terabit per second of downlink capacity.
"The Space Bureau has evaluated the real-world performance of the Gen2 Starlink satellites launched to date, and we find that authorization for additional satellites is in the public interest, even as the Gen2 Starlink Upgrade satellites remain untested on orbit," the FCC concluded.
The order grants SpaceX a time-limited waiver from equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits for the Gen2 system. Those limits are intended to prevent low Earth orbit constellations from interfering with satellites in geostationary orbit, although SpaceX and other LEO operators have argued the rules are outdated.
The FCC is currently reviewing EPFD limits. "We believe that while this rulemaking is ongoing, it is in the public interest to grant SpaceX's request for waiver to allow it to exceed the EPFD limits, given the benefits to SpaceX's service and thus American consumers and the continued protection of GSO operators," the order states.
The commission also said the performance of the Gen2 satellites to date addressed concerns about collision risks and satellite failure rates, rejecting comments that warned the full constellation could result in thousands of unmaneuverable satellites.
The order noted that SpaceX reported only two "disposal failures," or cases in which a satellite could not be deorbited at the end of its mission, during the first year of Gen2 operations, compared with six such failures in the first year of first-generation Starlink operations. The FCC said that comparison "illustrates that commenters' concerns that hundreds to thousands of failed, non-maneuverable Gen2 Starlink satellites are unlikely to come to pass."
The FCC also rejected a motion by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America to stay review of the application. The organization argued there was a conflict of interest involving Elon Musk's role as chief executive of SpaceX and his time as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an organization established by the Trump administration in early 2025.
The commission concluded the group "has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits" and noted that Musk left his role in DOGE in May 2025, "so the conflict-of-interest concerns underlying the Motion for Stay are moot."
Vielen Dank, dass Sie den Artikel gelesen haben! Beobachten Sie uns unter Google Nachrichten.
