SpaceX to launch dozens of 'test satellites' for its Starlink program

SpaceX will launch dozens of 'test satellites' for its Starlink program next week as it ramps up efforts to create high speed global internet SpaceX's CEO says the company will launch dozens of satellites next week The launches will kick off Starlink which aims to provide high speed internet  Starlink could eventually launch as many as 12,000 satellites into orbit SpaceX will compete with Amazon and London-based OneWeb 

By James Pero For Dailymail.com

Published: 20:25 BST, 10 May 2019 | Updated: 20:26 BST, 10 May 2019

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Elon Musk's plan to beam high-speed internet to Earth using thousands of satellites is becoming a reality as project Starlink is expected to start launching next week.

According to an announcement from Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and CEO, the company will launch dozens of satellites into space next week as a beginning demonstration for the Starlink project. 

The preliminary launches will deploy pared down versions of its satellites that will function more as a test, said Shotwell. 

Notably, the trial versions will lack the ability to communicate with one another -- a feature that will help full-fledged satellites avoid colliding into each other.

Elon Musk is behind SpaceX and its project, Starlink, which aims to launch thousands of satellites capable of providing high speed, low-latency internet

Elon Musk is behind SpaceX and its project, Starlink, which aims to launch thousands of satellites capable of providing high speed, low-latency internet

'This next batch of satellites will really be a demonstration set for us to see the deployment scheme and start putting our network together,' said Shotwell at conference in Washington, DC, as reported by SpaceNews. 

As reported by SpaceNews, Shotwell said the company could conduct as many as six launched this year depending on how the upcoming demonstration launches go.  

Recently, Starlink received re-approval from the FCC to get the project underway after altering its plans to launch satellites last month. According to the company, it had to readjust its plans to avoid orbiting space junk that could damage the devices. 

The modified plan would launch more than 1,500 of the satellites at around 342 miles above Earth.

According to FCC filings, in total, SpaceX's Starlink project could eventually include as many as 12,000 satellites orbiting just above Earth's atmosphere and offer users speeds as high as 1GBPS with a latency as low as 25ms. 

While Starlink will pioneer the novel way of providing domestic internet, it will be far from uncontested in its plans.  

Amazon unveiled its intentions behind a mysterious plan, dubbed Project Kuiper, initially announced last September which will launch 3,236 satellites into low-orbit around the Earth.

Project Kuiper has yet to receive regulatory approval for its project and hasn't yet provided a timeline for when satellites might enter orbit. 

SpaceX wil contend with the e-tailing giant, Amazon, in its quest to conquer the world of satellite-derived internet

SpaceX wil contend with the e-tailing giant, Amazon, in

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