FCC approves SpaceX’s plans to fly internet-beaming satellites in a lower orbit

The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX’s request to fly a large swath of its internet-beaming satellites at a lower orbit than originally planned. The approval was a major regulatory hurdle the company needed to clear in order to start launching its first operational satellites from Florida in May 2019.  Under SpaceX’s original agreement with the FCC, the company had permission to launch 4,425 Starlink satellites into orbits that ranged between 1,110 to 1,325 kilometers up. But then SpaceX decided it wanted to fly 1,584 of those satellites in different orbits, thanks to what it had learned from its first two test satellites, TinTin A and B. Instead of flying them at 1,150 kilometers, the company now wants to fly them much lower at 550 kilometers. And now the FCC is on board. 

SpaceX argues that by operating satellites at this orbit, the Starlink constellation will have much lower latency in signal, cutting down transmission time to just 15 milliseconds. The lower orbit also means SpaceX can get the same coverage with 16 fewer satellites, and the company argues the change will help cut down on space debris. At 550 kilometers, satellites are more affected by Earth’s atmosphere and are pulled out of orbit much more quickly than vehicles that are higher up. So if any of the Starlink satellites happen to fail and become inoperable, they should fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere fairly quickly.