SpaceX’s new Starlink satellite internet service is ready to go “fully mobile.” The company’s founder Elon Musk revealed on Twitter that the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company is in the limited beta testing period right now.
SpaceX has filed for an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for Starlink components that would allow the company to work on moving vehicles. According to Musk, these are big moving vehicles that will act as Starlink terminals. The basic idea is to use vehicles such as planes, trucks, RVs and ships.
This would be a pivoting moment for Starlink. SpaceX has secured nearly $885.5 million in grant funds from the FCC in 2020, along with three years’ worth of successful satellite launches. The company has delivered more than 1,000 satellites into orbit. It has also begun accepting preorders from customers interested in joining the company’s “Better Than Nothing” beta program.
As of February 2021, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation is serving roughly 10,000 customers in beta. Musk plans to expand this service to customers who work in moving vehicles. This would be a pivoting moment for Starlink. Right now, SpaceX does not allow customers to move the existing hardware from one physical location to another. The agreement would remove permanent limitations from the Starlink satellite constellation.
Elon Musk also tweeted that Starlink will be out of beta by the end of 2021.
SpaceX has more than 1,200 satellites in low-Earth orbit and plans to continue launching Starlink spacecraft every few weeks. The plan is to grow the constellation by thousands of internet satellites in order to provide internet across the globe, even in remote places.
