SpaceX is not done yet. Last Nov. 15, the commercial space flight service company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk requested to launch 4,424 more satellites to space.
SpaceX asked for the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the launch of its fleet of satellites. The new more than four thousand satellites will be used for communications and broadband services.
"The system is designed to provide a wide range of broadband and communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, governmental and professional users worldwide," a SpaceX wrote on its application as published by Business Insider.
The request mentions that the "constellation" of microsatellites will enable SpaceX to provide worldwide coverage. Also based on the request, the company will make used of the "Ku" and "Ka" level on 12-18GHz and 26.5-40 GHz from the electromagnetic spectrum. In an interesting twist, NASA is also using another level in the K spectrum in between the requested airwaves of SpaceX. If granted, the company will use the channel above and below NASA's communication lines.
But SpaceX also revealed that by using the said band, it will able allow sharing with other users. The new fleet of satellites will be controlled from a base on Earth and are designed to be operational for a total of five to seven years and will re-enter the Earth's orbit after that, according to a report. Launching a fleet of more than four thousand satellite payload is not impossible for SpaceX since it announced a satellite facility in Washington last 2015, according to Inverse.
Some say Internet providers should worry. But SpaceX is downplaying the potential impact of its new constellation of satellites.