SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite project could demand $30 billion in investment, Elon Musk has predicted, though the company hopes it’ll stop losing money
SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite project could demand $30 billion in investment, Elon Musk has predicted, though the company hopes it’ll stop losing money on each auto-tracking terminal within the next year. Speaking as part of a Mobile World Congress 2021 session today, Musk conceded that it could be some time before Starlink turns cash flow positive. The system uses a network of satellites in low Earth orbit, known as a constellation. These communicate with small satellite dishes on the ground, which Starlink calls terminals, and which automatically adjust themselves to maintain the constellation in sight. SpaceX currently sells the Starlink terminals for $500, part of the upfront fees that new sign-ups to the internet service must pay. However, Musk admitted today, that’s only about half of what the terminals actually cost at present.
