A SpaceX Starlink satellite is depicted with its transmitters pointing towards Earth.
Aerospace launch service provider and equipment manufacturer Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has been regularly launching its internal telecommunications satellites called ‘Starlink’ for quite some time. Through Starlink, SpaceX intends not only to provide Internet coverage to users in remote and other corners of the world through satellites, but the company also intends to use the proceeds generated to potentially fund its Starship launch vehicle, intended to place humans on the Martian surface.
To that end, SpaceX is busy submitting requests to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow it to establish ground stations to communicate with the Starlink constellation. The company’s last presentation, made on Thursday, requests the Commission to grant it the right to operate earth stations in Prosser, Washington and Roll, Arizona, and joins those that the company has already presented in the course of this year. and the last.
SpaceX seeks FCC approval for Starlink earth stations as company applications continue to accumulate with Commission
The app is part of SpaceX’s planned earth stations for Starlink that will work in conjunction with the company’s satellite constellation. These stations will play the role of conduits between the user and the data centers where websites or other Internet-based companies host their products.
SpaceX’s application for new ground stations at Prosser and Roll brings to 32 the number of earth station applications it has filed with the FCC. This figure runs counter to the company’s plans to have at least one million such stations according to an application for satellite earth stations that the company filed with the regulator last year. This request (SES-LIC-INTR2019-00217) was filed in February of last year, and the FCC has not yet submitted the public approval notice for this filing.
By reviewing the presentations made by SpaceX so far, it is clear that the company has a long way to go before its earth stations in the US go online. Of all the company’s FCC filings, applications have been accepted so far for ground stations in just five cities. Additionally, although applications for earth stations in McGregor and BocaChica Texas have not been publicly approved by the FCC, SpaceX has nevertheless been able to obtain a Special Temporary Authority (STA) that expired last month to assess performance and operational status. from the Starlink network.
SpaceX as an entity does not file applications with the FCC; instead, it is the sister company to the company titled SpaceX Services, Inc. that handles the Commission for Starlink ground stations. Looking briefly at SpaceX’s archival history, it’s clear that the only requests for ground stations that have been released for FCC approval are those filed last year.
SpaceX’s first requests for ground stations were made last year when it submitted authorization requests to build Ka-band gateways in Maine and Montana. Both were accepted by the FCC a month later, and since then, the company filed just two more requests for base stations in 2019. The FCC’s response to SpaceX requests made in 2020 has been mixed; While the Commission has not publicly approved any of SpaceX’s applications this year, the time it took to change the state of the applications has been sporadic.
Ground stations are especially necessary for early stage Starlink satellites as the satellites do not have onboard laser emitters. These emitters have been considered crucial in the design of the network to allow satellites to determine the optimal route between land stations on earth. Through them, for example, a Starlink satellite receiving data from Los Angeles will determine to which satellites it will relay this data to complete the path between the Los Angeles ground station and one that is potentially located in New York or London.
