5/5/2023 - Written By Caleb Henry
In January 2015, SpaceX's plans to launch 4,000 internet satellites were posted on YouTube by an account called "Cliff O," marking the beginning of what was then a two-horse race between them and OneWeb. At the time, the industry had serious doubts a constellation this size would ever happen. Financially it was too expensive, technologically, it was unproven, market adoption was doubtful, and space debris concerns were abundant.
Nevertheless, the constellation is here and continues to grow. Starlink has some notable differences from its 2015 iteration. The satellites were to be at 1,100 kilometers (just 100 below OneWeb), but are now concentrated around 550km. User terminals were expected to sell for $100-300, but instead retail for $500-600 with heavy cost subsidies. And SpaceX Founder Elon Musk estimated it would take five years to build and launch the initial constellation -- a process that ultimately took six to eight, depending on how you define "initial constellation." SpaceX has avoided saying how many satellites it plans to launch, meaning regulatory filings have served as the only knowledge of the constellation's upper boundary at 42,000 satellites. But regardless of final size, Starlink is the largest satellite network in history, outnumbering the rest of the world's satellites combined. It is here to stay and a force to be reckoned with.
SOURCE: https://gizmodo.com/spacexs-starlink-constellation-hits-4-000-satellites-1850403881