Elon Musk's SpaceX Rockets Past New Milestone, Launches 7,000th Starlink Satellite

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX on Thursday launched its 7,000th Starlink satellite into space, marking a major milestone for the company’s satellite internet segment.

What Happened: SpaceX on Thursday launched 21 Starlink satellites to low-earth orbit from Florida, taking the total number of Starlink satellites launched by the company to over 7,000.

According to data from astronomer Jonathan McDowell, only 6337 of the 7001 Starlink satellites launched are working. 5770 of them are in operational orbit.

SpaceX is aiming to provide high-speed internet across the globe with the constellation of Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Why It Matters: SpaceX completed 67 missions using its Falcon launch vehicles as of the end of the second quarter, with its Falcon 9 workhorse alone accounting for 66 launches and Starlink missions accounting for a major chunk of it.  

SpaceX is looking to launch 144 times through the end of the year, averaging twelve times per month.

Earlier this week, Musk said that T-Mobile US Inc. subscribers will get direct-to-cell satellite connectivity with the help of Starlink later this year. The service will be available to T-Mobile customers in the U.S. exclusively for a year before the company opens it up to other carriers, he added.

T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership in August 2022 aiming to connect the smartphones on the carrier’s network to Starlink satellites. The partnership is aimed at providing connectivity to remote locations that are untouched by cell signals from any provider.

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Photo courtesy: SpaceX