Elon Musk was able to confirm that the internet connection provided by SpaceX's Starlink satellites work. The company's founder and CEO was able to do so after connecting to the internet service provided by Starlink.
In May of this year, SpaceX officially kicked off the launch of its Starlink project by deploying a total of 60 satellites into space. According to the company, the launch of the satellites is part of SpaceX's major project that aims to deliver high-speed internet connection from low-Earth orbit. Musk noted that the 60 Starlink units is only the first batch of satellites for the project.
Earlier this week, the 48-year-old technology entrepreneur surprised his followers on Twitter by posting a tweet using the internet connection from Starlink. He began the test by posting a short message that he claims was sent via the Starlink satellites. This was followed by another tweet from the tech mogul confirming that the connection service provided by Starlink works.
Although the Starlink project works, Musk previously said that SpaceX will need to launch about 400 satellites just to provide minimal internet coverage. To deliver moderate coverage, the company will have to deploy 800 satellites.
Originally, SpaceX intended to launch a total of 12,000 satellites for its Starlink project. However, according to documents recently filed by the company to the International Communication Union, it seems SpaceX now plans to launch an additional 30,000 Starlink units. Once all of the satellites have been launched, SpaceX will have a total of 42,000 Starlink units orbiting the Earth.
The company has decided to drastically increase the number of Starlink satellites in order to meet the global demand for faster and more stable internet connection. Given the huge number of units that the company will launch, SpaceX aims to provide strong and reliable internet coverage to every part of the world.
"As demand escalates for fast, reliable internet around the world, especially for those where connectivity is non-existent, too expensive or unreliable, SpaceX is taking steps to responsibly scale Starlink's total network capacity and data density to meet the growth in users' anticipated needs," the company said in a statement to Space News.
