Skip to main content

SpaceX launches more Starlink satellites and reveals latest customer count

SpaceX conducted its first rocket launch of 2022 on Thursday, sending its first batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit since December 18.

The mission got underway shortly before 5 p.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

As usual, the private space company, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, live-streamed the main parts of the mission, including the all-important launch.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/UKW3ab4vai

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 6, 2022

This was followed several minutes later by stage separation.

Starlink Mission

About nine minutes after launch, the booster made a perfect upright landing on a drone ship, which was waiting in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida.

Starlink Mission

SpaceX later confirmed, via Twitter, that the latest batch of 49 Starlink satellites had successfully been deployed.

Starlink internet service

During Thursday’s livestream, SpaceX revealed that it now has around 145,000 Starlink customers in 25 countries — up from 140,000 users in November.

For the broadband-from-space service, customers in the U.S. pay $499 for the dish and other hardware and $99 a month for the internet service. Shipping and handling cost $50, with tax coming in at about $33.

After adding around 10,000 new customers each month since the launch of the service in October 2020, growth has clearly slowed dramatically recently with only 5,000 new customers added over the last couple of months.

This is likely due to global silicon shortages that have affected SpaceX’s ability to build its equipment and fulfill orders in a more timely fashion.

Toward the end of last year, SpaceX apologized to customers who were waiting longer than expected for their Starlink gear to arrive.

“We apologize for the delay and are working hard across our engineering, supply chain, and production teams to improve and streamline our product and factory to increase our production rate,” the company said at the time.

SpaceX is aiming to expand Starlink to 45 additional countries by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval, as well as its ability to ramp up production of the necessary kit.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX launches a different kind of Starship
SpaceX's Starship Torch.

On the same day that SpaceX failed to launch the first orbital test flight of its Starship vehicle, the company has managed to launch something similar but altogether smaller: the Starship Torch.

That’s right, folks, for a mere $175, you can be the proud owner of a torch that resembles a very small version of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft that’s currently sitting atop the Super Heavy rocket on a launchpad at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.

Read more
SpaceX scrubs launch of world’s most powerful rocket due to valve issue
SpaceX's Starship rocket on the pad in Boca Chica, Texas.

The planned first test flight of the SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy rocket has been scrubbed. The launch of the world's most powerful rocket had been scheduled for today, Monday April 17, but was called off due to a frozen valve.

The decision was made to halt the countdown around 10 minutes before liftoff, turning the event today into a wet dress rehearsal instead of a test flight. That means the rocket was fueled and ready to launch, but did not actually leave the ground, and the countdown was halted around 40 seconds before liftoff. "A pressurant valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, no launch today," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter.

Read more
SpaceX aims to launch world’s most powerful rocket on Monday
SpaceX's Super Heavy and Starship.

SpaceX is targeting Monday, April 17, for the maiden launch of the most powerful rocket ever built after receiving clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“After a comprehensive license evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration, and financial responsibility requirements,” the agency said in a statement on Friday.

Read more