SpaceX Hopes To Raise $500m For Its Satellite Broadband Network

Starlink is meant to provide low-cost broadband internet access to billions of people around the world who are underserved by existing access networks. SpaceX has also left the door open for Earth imaging, remote sensing and other satellite applications.

The company was founded by Greg Wyler in 2012[1][2] and launched its first satellites in February 2019. It entered bankruptcy in March 2020 after failing to raise the required capital to complete the build and deployment of the remaining 90% of the network. The company emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings and reorganization in November 2020 with a new ownership group. As of 2021, Indian multinational company Bharti Global, France-based satellite service provider Eutelsat and the Government of the United Kingdom were the company's largest shareholders, while Japan's SoftBank retained an equity holding of 12%.[5][12]

SpaceX hopes to raise $500m for its satellite broadband network

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The constellation was originally announced in June 2014 to be just half of the total of approximately 720 satellites. A quarter of the satellites were to make up the initial constellation, and these would operate in the lower of the two proposed orbits, at approximately 850 km (530 mi).[17] The initial constellation would presumably be raised or lowered into its final orbital altitude of either 800 km (500 mi) or 950 km (590 mi) as consumer and business use of the broadband service grows over time.[15] By early 2015, OneWeb indicated that the first launches would occur no earlier than 2017.[25]

By August 2019, the company had six of its satellites broadcasting at the right frequencies for 90 days, meeting the "use-it-or-lose-it" spectrum conditions set by the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU).[49] This secured the vital rights OneWeb needed to operate its global satellite broadband network.[13]

Amazon announced a large broadband internet satellite constellation proposal in April 2019, planning to launch up to 3,236 satellites in the next decade in what Amazon calls "Project Kuiper", a satellite constellation that will work in concert[132]with Amazon's previously-announced large network of 12 satellite ground station facilities (the "AWS Ground Station unit") announced in November 2018.[133]

OneWeb was founded in 2012, originally under the name WorldVu Satellites. The company plans to launch a constellation of 648 satellites to provide global broadband internet coverage. OneWeb\u2019s first major fundraise took place in 2015 when it raised $500M, mostly from major aerospace entities including Arianespace and Virgin. In 2016, the company raised an additional $1B from SoftBank. In 2019, OneWeb formed a joint venture with Airbus Space and Defense named OneWeb Satellites which would manufacture the satellites and was intended to leverage Airbus\u2019s satellite development experience.

The satellite spans 693 square feet in size, a design feature critical to support a space-based cellular broadband network. The satellite is expected to have a field of view of over 300,000 square miles on the surface of the Earth.

Morgan Stanley estimates it will cost SpaceX $10bn to $15bn to complete the Starlink network. This and other variables highlight the need for the company to raise capital privately or publicly, analysts led by Armintas Sinkevicius wrote in a report. CNBC reported on Monday that SpaceX is raising about $500m of new funding at a roughly $36bn valuation.

This time next year you could be browsing the web with satellite internet that doesn't stink.. "Private spaceflight firm SpaceX has been publicly planning to deploy a network of "Starlink" satellites to offer broadband internet for several years, but all... 2ff7e9595c