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Including previous approvals, Starlink can now deploy 15,000 Gen2 satellites.
Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images
SpaceX today 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.
“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,” the Federal Communications Commission announced today. “This expansion will enable SpaceX to deliver high-speed, low-latency Internet service globally, including enhanced mobile and supplemental coverage from space.”
The FCC gave SpaceX permission for the first set of 7,500 satellites in December 2022. The agency deferred action on the rest of the second-generation constellation at the time and limited the first batch to certain altitudes, saying it needed to “address concerns about orbital debris and space safety” before approving the full bunch.
The FCC said today’s order allows SpaceX to “upgrade the Gen2 Starlink satellites with advanced form factors and cutting-edge technology,” and “operate across Ku-, Ka-, V-, E-, and W-band frequencies, supporting both Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and Mobile Satellite Service (MSS).” The FCC said it is waiving “obsolete requirements that prevented overlapping beam coverage and enhanced capacity,” and is letting SpaceX “add new orbital shells at altitudes ranging from 340 km to 485 km, optimizing coverage and performance.”
The news follows SpaceX’s announcement of maneuvers that will lower about 4,400 of the company’s existing satellites from an altitude of 341 miles (550 kilometers) to 298 miles (480 kilometers) during 2026. SpaceX said it is making the change to increase space safety as the lower altitudes have less debris that satellites could collide with.
The 2022 authorization for the first 7,500 satellites didn’t include mobile service, but the FCC decided in November 2024 that SpaceX could use those satellites to provide Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) in the US. Starlink’s mobile system provides service to smartphones in areas not covered by terrestrial cellular networks.
T-Mobile is using Starlink in the US, and the satellite operator has partnerships with carriers overseas. With today’s FCC authorization, Starlink will be able to provide both fixed and mobile service from all 15,000 second-generation satellites.
SpaceX wants to launch another 15,000 satellites
SpaceX also recently struck a $17 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar, which will give it 50 Mhz of mobile spectrum and reduce its reliance on cellular carriers. SpaceX has been leasing 10 MHz of spectrum from T-Mobile to provide supplemental service in the US.
Starlink is separately planning to launch yet another 15,000 satellites that are designed for mobile service. SpaceX asked the FCC to approve this plan in September 2025, saying the “new system will offer a new generation of MSS connectivity, supporting voice, texting, and high-speed data.”
Starlink requests for FCC authorization often face opposition from other satellite firms, and the application for 15,000 more satellites is no exception. Viasat filed a petition to deny the application on Monday this week.
“This proposed expansion of SpaceX’s operating authority would give it an even greater ability and incentive to foreclose other operators from accessing and using limited orbital and spectrum resources on a competitive basis,” Viasat told the FCC. “At the same time, the proposed operations would generate insurmountable interference risks for other spectrum users and the customers they serve, preclude other operators from accessing and using scarce spectral and orbital resources on an equitable basis, undermine and foreclose competition and innovation, and otherwise harm the public.”
Globalstar also filed a petition to deny, and several other satellite operators raised objections. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has generally been a supporter of SpaceX and Elon Musk, however. Carr alleged that the Biden administration targeted Musk’s companies for “regulatory harassment,” and in his current role as chairman Carr pressured EchoStar into selling the spectrum licenses that SpaceX is now buying.
In today’s press release announcing the latest authorization, Carr said that “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.”
Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images
SpaceX today 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.
“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,” the Federal Communications Commission announced today. “This expansion will enable SpaceX to deliver high-speed, low-latency Internet service globally, including enhanced mobile and supplemental coverage from space.”
The FCC gave SpaceX permission for the first set of 7,500 satellites in December 2022. The agency deferred action on the rest of the second-generation constellation at the time and limited the first batch to certain altitudes, saying it needed to “address concerns about orbital debris and space safety” before approving the full bunch.
The FCC said today’s order allows SpaceX to “upgrade the Gen2 Starlink satellites with advanced form factors and cutting-edge technology,” and “operate across Ku-, Ka-, V-, E-, and W-band frequencies, supporting both Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and Mobile Satellite Service (MSS).” The FCC said it is waiving “obsolete requirements that prevented overlapping beam coverage and enhanced capacity,” and is letting SpaceX “add new orbital shells at altitudes ranging from 340 km to 485 km, optimizing coverage and performance.”
The news follows SpaceX’s announcement of maneuvers that will lower about 4,400 of the company’s existing satellites from an altitude of 341 miles (550 kilometers) to 298 miles (480 kilometers) during 2026. SpaceX said it is making the change to increase space safety as the lower altitudes have less debris that satellites could collide with.
The 2022 authorization for the first 7,500 satellites didn’t include mobile service, but the FCC decided in November 2024 that SpaceX could use those satellites to provide Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) in the US. Starlink’s mobile system provides service to smartphones in areas not covered by terrestrial cellular networks.
T-Mobile is using Starlink in the US, and the satellite operator has partnerships with carriers overseas. With today’s FCC authorization, Starlink will be able to provide both fixed and mobile service from all 15,000 second-generation satellites.
SpaceX wants to launch another 15,000 satellites
SpaceX also recently struck a $17 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar, which will give it 50 Mhz of mobile spectrum and reduce its reliance on cellular carriers. SpaceX has been leasing 10 MHz of spectrum from T-Mobile to provide supplemental service in the US.
Starlink is separately planning to launch yet another 15,000 satellites that are designed for mobile service. SpaceX asked the FCC to approve this plan in September 2025, saying the “new system will offer a new generation of MSS connectivity, supporting voice, texting, and high-speed data.”
Starlink requests for FCC authorization often face opposition from other satellite firms, and the application for 15,000 more satellites is no exception. Viasat filed a petition to deny the application on Monday this week.
“This proposed expansion of SpaceX’s operating authority would give it an even greater ability and incentive to foreclose other operators from accessing and using limited orbital and spectrum resources on a competitive basis,” Viasat told the FCC. “At the same time, the proposed operations would generate insurmountable interference risks for other spectrum users and the customers they serve, preclude other operators from accessing and using scarce spectral and orbital resources on an equitable basis, undermine and foreclose competition and innovation, and otherwise harm the public.”
Globalstar also filed a petition to deny, and several other satellite operators raised objections. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has generally been a supporter of SpaceX and Elon Musk, however. Carr alleged that the Biden administration targeted Musk’s companies for “regulatory harassment,” and in his current role as chairman Carr pressured EchoStar into selling the spectrum licenses that SpaceX is now buying.
In today’s press release announcing the latest authorization, Carr said that “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.”
