SpaceX successfully deployed the first batch of its next-generation Starlink satellites, which the company hopes will increase the broadband capacity

SpaceX is set to launch 21 miniaturized versions of its next generation Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit later today. The V2 Mini, as SpaceX calls it, is a compact version of the one the company is hoping to launch with its upcoming Starship rocket.

In an effort to stifle Elon Musk’s Starlink, researchers in China are planning to launch their own fleet. The proposed megaconstellation has no set launch date, but is expected to consist of 12,992 satellites equipped with technologies to conduct surveillance on Starlink, among other capabilities.
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After completing a static fire test of Starship earlier this month, SpaceX has nowhere else to go but up. A company official says it’s now in a position to perform the first orbital flight test of its much-anticipated megarocket, pending a launch license.
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In August 2022, SpaceX violated a Federal Aviation Administration safety rule that’s meant to prevent collisions in low Earth orbit, but the proposed fine of $175,000 will hardly serve as a deterrent for a company owned by one of the richest people on Earth.

This past Saturday, ex-astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted at SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, criticizing his company for planning to prevent the Ukrainian military from using Starlink to control drone strikes. With typical Muskian bluster, the billionaire said he didn’t want his devices to “enable escalation of the conflict that may…
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The Federal Communications Commission has granted approval to Amazon subsidiary Kuiper Systems to deploy its constellation of 3,236 broadband satellites. The approval comes with the caveat that Amazon must retire satellites seven years after deployment and report satellite launches to the FCC on a regular basis.