PC Mag by Michael Kan 1/10/2022
SpaceX Sidesteps Amazon Spat, Eyes March Launch for 2nd-Gen Starlink Satellites
The company is no longer asking the FCC for approval for two configurations of the second-generation Starlink satellite constellation, which will span nearly 30,000 satellites.
SpaceX is dropping an FCC request asking for two satellite configurations for a second-generation Starlink network.
Instead, the company is only requesting FCC clearance for the primary configuration of the second-gen Starlink constellation, citing progress on SpaceX’s Starship vehicle, which promises to soon carry the satellites into orbit.
“Much has changed in the intervening period, and SpaceX has exceeded its own expectations in the pace of developing both its Gen2 satellites and its Starship launch vehicle,” SpaceX lawyers told the FCC in a letter last Friday.
The same letter notes SpaceX “still intends to begin launching the Gen2 system as early as March 2022,” right after the Federal Aviation Administration finishes a review of the launch site for the Starship craft.
More:
https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-sidesteps-amazon-spat-eyes-march-launch-for-2nd-gen-starlink-satellites
