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WASHINGTON — SpaceX plans to statesman investigating its Starlink satellite-to-cell work with T-Mobile this year, an enforcement of Elon Musk's institution said connected Monday.
"We're going to larn a batch by doing — not needfully by overanalyzing — and getting retired there," Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX vice president of Starlink endeavor sales, said connected a sheet astatine the Satellite 2023 league successful Washington, D.C.
The marketplace for space-based information services directly to devices connected the ground, specified arsenic for smartphones, is wide considered to person lucrative potential, with a assortment of outer companies partnering with terrestrial mobile web operators (MNOs) and instrumentality makers to capable successful sum gaps crossed the Earth.
SpaceX and T-Mobile announced their partnership successful August, vowing to "end mobile dormant zones."
SpaceX has launched astir 4,000 Starlink satellites to date, and recently rolled retired its much almighty "V2 Mini" satellites, which it says person quadruple the capableness of the erstwhile generation.
Hofeller said Monday that SpaceX is manufacturing six satellites per time astatine its installation adjacent Seattle and believes the institution is nary longer manufacturing its erstwhile 1.5 bid of Starlink satellites. The institution is besides producing "thousands" of idiosyncratic terminals per day, helium said.
While SpaceX plans to marque adjacent larger second-generation satellites, and has "made a few" truthful far, Hofeller emphasized that launching those is "tied very intimately to Starship," the company's towering rocket that has yet to scope space.
SpaceX has "well over" 1 cardinal Starlink users, Hofeller said, having passed that milestone successful December. The compay precocious announced that its Starlink concern "had a currency travel affirmative quarter" successful 2022, with the institution aiming for the portion to "make money" successful 2023.
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