{"id":402430,"date":"2026-01-12T05:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T05:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/402430\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T05:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T05:54:09","slug":"elon-musks-spacex-gets-fcc-permission-to-launch-7500-starlink-satellites-just-days-after-its-vp-announced-major-changes-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/402430\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk’s SpaceX gets FCC permission to launch 7,500 Starlink satellites just days after its VP announced major changes in …"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elon SpaceX<\/a> has received US permission to launch another 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, bringing its total authorization to 15,000 Gen2 satellites including those previously approved. \u201cUnder this grant, SpaceX is authorized to construct, deploy, and operate an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 15,000 satellites worldwide,\u201d the Federal Communications Commission announced in a release. Elon Musk<\/a>‘s SpaceX got permission for the first set of 7,500 satellites in December 2022. The agency, however, deferred action on the rest of the second-generation constellation at the time and limited the first batch to certain altitudes, saying that it needed to \u201caddress concerns about orbital debris and space safety\u201d before approving all.FCC’s release follows SpaceX\u2019s announcement, on January 1, of maneuvers that will lower about 4,400 of the company\u2019s existing satellites from an altitude of 341 miles (550 kilometers) to 298 miles (480 kilometers) during 2026. About 4,400 of the company\u2019s Starlink Internet satellites will move from an altitude of 341 miles (550 kilometers) to 298 miles (480 kilometers) over the course of 2026, according to Michael Nicolls, SpaceX\u2019s vice president of Starlink engineering. \u201cStarlink is beginning a significant reconfiguration of its satellite constellation focused on increasing space safety,\u201d Nicolls wrote in a post on X. Nicolls said that the decision will \u201cincrease space safety in several ways.\u201d The number of debris objects and planned satellite constellations is significantly lower below 500 km, reducing the aggregate likelihood of collision,\u201d Nicolls added.”Starlink satellites have extremely high reliability, with only 2 dead satellites in its fleet of over 9000 operational satellites. Nevertheless, if a satellite does fail on orbit, we want it to deorbit as quickly as possible. These actions will further improve the safety of the constellation, particularly with difficult to control risks such as uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other satellite operators,” Nicolls concluded.<\/p>\n

What FCC said in its order approving next-gen satellite constellation<\/p>\n

FCC has granted Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) a major authorization to advance its second-generation Starlink satellite system, marking a significant milestone in global broadband connectivity. Under this grant, SpaceX is authorized to construct, deploy, and operate an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 15,000 satellites worldwide. This expansion will enable SpaceX to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet service globally, including enhanced mobile and supplemental coverage from space. The FCC\u2019s decision today benefited in particular from the work and collaboration provided by the Commerce Department and NTIA.In a statement FCC chairman Brendan Carr said, \u201cPresident Trump is restoring America\u2019s technology leadership. And this FCC authorization is a game-changer for enabling next-generation services. 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

FCC\u2019s decision allows SpaceX to:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Upgrade the Gen2 Starlink satellites with advanced form factors and cutting-edge technology.\u2022 Operate across Ku-, Ka-, V-, E-, and W-band frequencies, supporting both Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and Mobile Satellite Service (MSS).\u2022 Waive obsolete requirements that prevented overlapping beam coverage and enhanced capacity.\u2022 Add new orbital shells at altitudes ranging from 340 km to 485 km, optimizing coverage and performance.\u2022 Provide direct-to-cell connectivity outside the United States and supplemental coverage within the U.S., paving the way for next-generation mobile services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SpaceX has received US permission to launch another 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, bringing its total authorization to 15,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[12,11,194166,718,79,193,1513,19161],"class_list":["post-402430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-donald-trump","tag-elon-musk","tag-fcc-authorization","tag-nasa","tag-science","tag-space","tag-spacex","tag-starlink-satellites"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}