Elon Musk Plans Lower-Orbit Starlink Satellites to Reduce Latency
To reduce latency for Starlink, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to launch “next-generation” satellites that will orbit closer to Earth.
“The current Starlinks are at 550 kilometers in orbit. The next generation will be at 350 kilometers,” Musk stated while live streaming himself playing Diablo IV using Starlink over the weekend.
Starlink uses orbiting satellites to transmit internet data to the ground. SpaceX recently reported a median latency of 28 milliseconds for Starlink users. To further decrease this latency, Musk aims to reduce the distance between the satellites and Earth.
“Speed of light is the one thing that we cannot overcome,” he explained during the live stream. “The current up-down, up-down for a packet to bounce through space to a satellite to the ground and back is about 8 milliseconds. You can’t beat the 8 milliseconds. Future versions of Starlink will be at a lower altitude, bringing it closer to a 5- or 6-millisecond latency.”
These lower orbits are expected to help Musk achieve his goal of reducing Starlink’s overall latency to under 20 milliseconds, enhancing its performance for online gaming and video conferencing. “In the next year or two, we should be able to get the Starlink latency below 20 milliseconds,” he added.
SpaceX has previously mentioned these next-generation satellites. In October, the company filed with the International Telecommunications Union to operate 29,888 satellites, with 19,440 of them orbiting Earth at 340 to 360 kilometers.
Before launching these satellites, SpaceX needs approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In February and March, SpaceX requested the FCC’s permission to operate the new Starlink satellites at the 340- to 360-kilometer range.
On Friday, the FCC responded with a letter expressing concerns about launching satellites closer to Earth. The agency requested more information on ensuring these satellites “do not affect operations of inhabitable space stations,” such as the International Space Station, which orbits at about 400 kilometers.
The FCC also raised concerns about the increased light pollution from lower-altitude Starlink satellites potentially disrupting optical astronomy, and the possibility of radio interference with other satellites. SpaceX has until July 8 to address these concerns. In its earlier filings, SpaceX mentioned that lowering the orbits of Starlink satellites should improve latency and make it easier to retire satellites by de-orbiting them to burn up in the atmosphere.
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