SpaceX says that 12,000 satellites are not enough, so another 30,000 can happen

SpaceX is seeking permission to launch an additional 30,000 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for its Starlink broadband network, which will be in addition to the nearly 1[ads1]2,000 satellites the company already has permission to launch. But it's too early in the process to determine if SpaceX is likely to launch most or all of the additional 30,000 satellites.
The Federal Communications Commission made inquiries on behalf of SpaceX, which is common practice, in a series of submissions with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) last week. (Here's an example of one of the registrations.) The 30,000 satellites would operate "at altitudes from 328 kilometers to 580 kilometers," SpaceNews reported yesterday.
The records are known as coordination requests. As SpaceNews noted, ITU coordinates the spectrum "to prevent signal disruption and spectrum hogging." SpaceX's submissions may help the company reserve the spectrum before other operators claim it, but it is an early step in the process and does not oblige SpaceX to launch all 30,000 satellites.
SpaceNews wrote:
Submissions trigger a seven-year deadline in which the satellite operator, in this case SpaceX, must launch at least one satellite with the requested frequencies and operate it for 90 days. When spectrum rights are granted through this "take-up" procedure, other companies must design their systems to avoid interference from the recently minted seated operator.
Dramatic expansion in satellites orbiting the Earth
SpaceX faces competition in the beginning low-earth satellite broadband market from OneWeb, Space Norway, Telesat and Amazon. Broadband provided by low-Earth satellites should provide faster speeds and lower latencies than traditional satellites, which go at much greater heights. SpaceX has said it intends to provide gigabit speeds and latencies as low as 25ms, but the company has not revealed how much the service will cost.
SpaceX's constellation alone would dwarf the total number of satellites orbiting the Earth today. As of January 2019, about 8,950 satellites had been placed in Earth's orbit since 1957, and about 5,000 of these were still in space, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). Only about 1,950 of these are still operational.
If SpaceX continues with the additional 30,000 satellites, it must seek FCC permission and provide more technical details, including plans to minimize debris and prevent collisions. SpaceX designs its satellites to burn up completely during atmospheric re-entry to prevent physical damage from falling objects.
ESA recently had to perform a maneuver to avoid a collision to protect one of its satellites from a potential collision with a Starlink satellite. ESA says it invests in technology that can automate collision avoidance due to the huge number of satellites deployed for broadband networks.
"As the number of satellites in space increases dramatically, closer approaches between two operated spacecraft will occur more often," ESA said.
SpaceX wants more capacity
In a statement on the new ITU registrations, SpaceX told Ars and other media yesterday that it "is taking steps to responsibly scale Starlink's total network capacity and data density to meet the growth in users' expected needs. "SpaceX has not yet launched its first 12,000 satellites, but said demand is increasing" for fast, reliable internet around the world, especially for those where connectivity is non-existent, too expensive or unreliable. "
SpaceX launched 60 satellites in May this year to test the system before preparing for a broader distribution and says it plans to make two to six launches by the end of this year. The company has FCC permission to distribute up to 11,943 satellites.
SpaceX said yesterday that it plans to distribute satellite broadband in the northern United States and Canada as soon as next year. SpaceX recently asked the FCC for permission to adjust the orbital distance of the satellites, a change that would also allow the company to cover the southern United States by the end of next year.
Global coverage could follow shortly after this if SpaceX's predictions were to prove accurate. The company said yesterday that it can provide full coverage of the populated world after 24 launches and had previously said it could do 24 Starlink launches by 2020.