SpaceX sets its sights on a lower orbit for Starlink broadband network’s first satellites

SpaceX wants to lower the bar for its first batch of Starlink broadband satellites, with the aim of beginning deployment by the end of 2019. The revised plan is laid out for regulators at the Federal Communications Commission in filings that seek a lower orbit for 1,584 of the more than 4,400 satellites it envisions launching. The new target orbit would be 550 kilometers (342 miles) in altitude, as opposed to the 1,150-kilometer (715-mile) orbit described in SpaceX’s initial round of filings. The FCC signed off on SpaceX’s original plan in March, and would have to approve the revisions after putting them through a public comment period. More

(Source: GeekWire - Nov 10)