Starlink shines in satellite market

SpaceX has become the world’s largest internet satellite company,
launching 406 Starlink satellites in May alone, a record month
for Elon Musk’s Texas-based space technology company

DEPLOYED STARLINK SATELLITES
(annual, cumulative)

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025*

0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000

2
(test
launches)
122
955
1,944
3,666
5,650
7,632
8,823

NUMBER DEPLOYED
(daily, May 2025)

1 May 31

0
10
20
30
40
50
60

TOTAL
406

STARLINK

Large single solar array:
Extends in space. Simplified
cell design makes it easier
and cheaper to build

Ion drive: Thrusters,
powered by Krypton, move
satellite in space and deorbit
craft when redundant

Antennas: Four high-
throughput phased
array antennas

Star tracker: Sensors
keep satellite correctly
orientated

Speed: 50-150Mbps
data transfer speed,
(20-40ms latency)

Starlink “train” can be viewed from Earth – https://findstarlink.com

Sources: Sherwood, Jonathan’s Space Report, SpaceX
*To May 31, 2025
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