The thousands of satellites created by SpaceX and orbiting about 340 miles above the earth have cost the company a considerable amount of money, according to Elon Musk.
The satellites have formed a constellation that often raises concerns about potential collisions in space and the impact on astronomers' ability to study the night sky. However, many rural areas are starting to enjoy better internet, thanks to these satellites.
The latest group of 60 satellites launched by SpaceX last week has boosted the Starlink to 1,000. It is the largest group of satellites, with SpaceX now owning about a third of all active satellites in space.
The Starlink satellites launched last year were more than all the world's satellite providers combined in 2019.
SpaceX promised to bring cheap, high-speed internet to everyone through its satellites, beaming data to every corner of the planet. The company now says it has about 10,000 customers, proving that Starlink is no longer in the experimental stage, the company told the Federal Communications Commission on Feb. 4.
By comparison, Verizon, one of the most popular fiber internet providers, has more than 6 million customers.
However, whether Starlink will become a viable business is still uncertain. Musk noted in a tweet Tuesday morning that the company “must go through a deep gap of negative cash flow over the next year in order to make Starlink financially viable.”
The Starlink network is the largest and most substantial effort in history to create a low-latency for consumers, and Musk noted on Tuesday that several previous attempts to create such a network have been abandoned or declared bankruptcy.
