CEO Gwynne Shotwell told lawmakers in Texas on Tuesday that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet network should reach a new customer milestone this week.
She told a meeting of the state House Appropriations Committee, “By the way, this week we will pass 4 million customers for Starlink, which is pretty exciting.” (SpaceX confirmed the important event on Thursday.)
If SpaceX hits this goal, it will have added a million new customers just since the end of May. Starlink began offering beta services for its product in October 2020; it reached 1 million users in December 2022, 2 million in September 2023, and 3 million in May 2024. This is even faster than the company’s already impressive rate of growth. There are now almost 6,000 satellites in the constellation, and service is offered to people and businesses like cruise lines and major airlines in almost 100 countries.
According to Quilty Space, an industry research and consulting company, the service is on track to make $6.6 billion this year. This is more than double the $1.4 billion it made just two years ago.
SpaceX’s main goal is to make space travel and business more profitable. Starlink is a key part of this plan. The company has kept getting money from investors, but CEO Elon Musk has said for years that the money from the broadband internet service would help pay for more work on Starship, the huge rocket that can be used more than once. The company will be able to launch even more Starlink satellites more often once Starship is live.
Also Read: Why United Picked Starlink From Spacex to Power Its Free Wi-fi
Without a doubt, Starlink is now the biggest name in satellite internet. Viasat and SES, which already have big satellites in a higher geostationary orbit, have lost market share to it since it started offering services. A few other systems are in the works, including Amazon’s Project Kuiper, but they haven’t started going into service yet.
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