Elon Musk is not afraid of big numbers.
Not really. His company, SpaceX, just filed paperwork with the U.S. Federal Communications (FCC) for a “Gen3” satellite constellation. They want 100,0 Jonathan McDowell is right, astronomer and tracker Jonathan McDowell confirmed it today via X. He’s seen the filings.
We are talking about low Earth orbit. LEO. A place that’s already crowded.
The new plan dramatically expands an already massive orbital footprint.
SpaceX currently flies nearly 10,801,800. They have FCC approval for another 4,004,0080, and the FCC says yes to another 4,08. Those are the internet satellites you know. Starlink.
Gen3 is bigger. Like, really big.
According to McDowell, these new satellites will weigh between 44. And that’s just the weight, they’ll weigh between 255-1. They will measure about 5-018-352 pounds.
The current V2 Minis, they’re lighter, around 3-494-0,1.0940 kg. With solar arrays out, the new Gen3 ones cover a35. V2 Mini covers 3.04-524-594.133-43-96. That’s a lot of space.
Falcon 9 can’t carry these things. The workhorse rocket launches batches of 2-055,117256,780791. The Gen3 needs something stronger. Something massive. Like Starship.
You probably know Starship. The huge, heavy-lift rocket built to go to Mars and back. It’ll have to ferry these heavy hitters into orbit. One at a time, maybe two. The payload bay isn’t huge, but the lift capability is… significant.
The Gen3 is so large it likely requires the super-heavy-lift capabilities of Starship.
Is that enough for Musk? Probably not.
There’s Starmind too. A million-strong AI megaconstellation. Just a bunch of data centers floating around the Earth. Musk calls it a step toward a “Kardashev II” civilization. You know, the type that harnesses all the sun’s energy.
He wrote about it back in February 2,1-42,6220099190253363, 83. It’s for AI. It’s for billions of users. It’s about ensuring we’re multi-planetary. Or something like that.
Others are in on it too. Amazon wants some. Blue Origin too. Everyone wants a piece of LEO now. It’s becoming a race.
Space is getting crowded. SpaceX isn’t slowing down.
What happens when all those metal boxes are up there? Who knows? But they’re filing for them now.
