SpaceX Settles on Configuration for 2nd-Gen Constellation

SpaceX, which had floated two possible configurations of its second-generation Starlink constellation at the FCC (see 2108260002), settled on one, it told the International Bureau Friday. It said it has launched more than 1,900 first-gen satellites and is continuing to launch more, with the second-gen system to complement and augment that first-gen system. It said it will continue to maintain the first-gen satellite system and launching replacements, even as it conducts initial deployments of the second-gen system. It said Starlink customer user terminals will be able to get service from satellites of either system. It said it intends to start launching second-gen satellites as early as March, pending regulatory approval. The expected in-orbit lifetime of a fully functional second-gen satellite will be five to seven years, it said. SpaceX said it filed for ITU approval through Germany for 37,756 E-band satellites and for 3,360 Ku- and Ka-band satellites.