Image: SpaceX
SpaceX has offered a new look at its upcoming next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, highlighting just how massive they are compared to previous generations. In a new video shared on social media, the company compared the size of an astronaut, a V1.5 Starlink satellite, a V2 Mini, and the forthcoming full-scale V3 model. The difference is striking — take a look:
According to SpaceX, these Starlink V3 satellites are designed to add 60 terabits per second of downlink capacity to the network — more than 20 times what every Falcon 9 launch carrying V2 Mini satellites today adds. The third-generation satellites are designed to deliver gigabit internet speeds to users worldwide, pushing Starlink’s capabilities into a new era of performance and scalability.
SpaceX plans to begin launching the V3 satellites next year using its fully reusable Starship rocket. Earlier this week, the company completed its eleventh Starship flight test, which successfully deployed a batch of Starlink simulators for the second time and marked the retirement of its V2 rocket design. Future missions using the upgraded Starship V3 variant are expected to enable orbital operations and kick off payload deliveries, including the deployment of the new Starlink satellites.
Each third-generation Starlink satellite is capable of over 1,000 Gbps of downlink and more than 200 Gbps of uplink throughput — representing a tenfold boost in downlink and a 24x increase in uplink capacity compared to the current second-generation models. With the V3 rollout, Starlink aims to finally deliver true gigabit-class connectivity to users on the ground, addressing growing global bandwidth demands as the network scales to millions more customers.
As SpaceX transitions to Starship for Starlink launches, the company’s next-generation architecture could dramatically increase both coverage and speed — paving the way for the kind of global broadband service that CEO Elon Musk has envisioned from the start.
What do you think of SpaceX’s next-gen Starlink satellite design? Let us know in the comments below.
