SpaceX has reached a milestone with its Starlink satellite internet constellation, now hitting 3,000 satellites in operational orbit, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell’s tracking page (via @VirtuallyNathan).
There are now 3,230 “working” satellites out of 3,267. The tracking page shows SpaceX has launched a total of 3,558 Starlink satellites to date.
Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellite constellation offers high-speed internet with low latency, available virtually anywhere on the planet. For smaller remote communities, high-speed internet access opens up opportunities for education, business and more. The Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, announced this week it will be getting Starlink in 2023.
SpaceX and Starlink participated with Qatar to send FIFA World Cup balls to space and back, while some pre-orders have also been shipping to Nigeria.
Some customers have been offered $600 off Starlink’s high performance dish upgrades, while soon Microsoft data centers will begin to host Starlink gateways.
The next Starlink launch should be taking place on Friday, December 16 with 52 satellites set for launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the Starlink Group 4-37 mission, but this has yet to be officially confirmed by SpaceX.
