SpaceX to go ahead with Starlink tests, delay commercial service

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – SpaceX will continue beta testing its Starlink satellite broadband service into the next year, the company said on Tuesday at the end, indicating that the commercial service is likely not to be offered in 2020 as previously planned.

Hawthorne, California, SpaceX, Elon Musk’s private space exploration company, has launched nearly 900 Starlink satellites into orbit since 2019 with the goal of offering high-speed Internet to rural locations around the world.

Musk said the Starlink service will be a crucial source of funding for his larger plans, such as developing the super-heavy Starship rocket to fly paying customers to the moon and ultimately try to colonize Mars.

“At our current pace, we plan to expand our beta significantly early next year, between the end of January and the February period,” SpaceX engineer Kate Tice said during a live stream Tuesday, before. to launch the company’s sixteenth batch of Starlink satellites.

A SpaceX spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX in October invited hundreds of people in rural states like Washington, Wisconsin, and Idaho to participate in its “Better Than Nothing Beta” trial, opening the door for those who signed up to purchase and test the $ 499 installation kit of the company and pay $ 99 per month for Internet service.

In documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission, the company planned to offer a commercial service by the end of 2020, and then “rapidly expand to reach near-global coverage of the populated world in 2021”.

In November, SpaceX received approval from Canadian authorities to launch Starlink beta testing in the country, allowing for a “fairly large public beta” in southern Canada.