Connect with us

News

SpaceX says upgraded Starlink satellites have better bandwidth, beams, and more

During the Starlink-1 launch webcast, SpaceX described some of the significant upgrades it has made to its Starlink satellites, ranging from massively improved bandwidth to "100% demisability". (SpaceX - edit by Teslarati)

Published

on

Just hours ago, SpaceX successfully launched its second batch of 60 Starlink satellites, featuring a variety of upgrades as part of the move from v0.9 to v1.0 spacecraft. During SpaceX’s launch webcast, the hosts revealed a number of intriguing new details about those upgrades, shedding a bit more light on what exactly has changed.

SpaceX launched its first dedicated Starlink mission in May 2019, placing 60 “v0.9” satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) in what was essentially a beta test at an unprecedented scale. At the time, SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk disseminated a substantial amount of information, essentially taking the veil off of (part of) the company’s Starlink satellite program. In terms of the basics, Starlink v0.9 satellites were said to weigh approximately ~225 kg (500 lb) apiece, although the final mass – said to be the heaviest payload SpaceX had ever launched – suggested that that figure excluded the mass of krypton propellant.

All told, Musk said that the payload weighed ~18.5 tons but never clarified whether that was in imperial or metric units, leaving a potential range of 16,700-18,500 kilograms (36,800-40,800 pounds). In general, Musk was quite confident that SpaceX’s custom-built phased array antennas were effectively the best in the world even in their v0.9 beta-test iteration. Additionally, he noted that inter-satellite optical (i.e. laser) links would have to wait a generation or two before becoming part of the operational constellation.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

With SpaceX’s Starlink-1 launch, the second 60-satellite mission, the company debuted Starlink ‘v1.0’ satellites with a range of changes and upgrades that fall under two main categories: structures and communications.

Prior to the November 11th webcast, SpaceX’s official pre-launch press kit was far less revealing than Starlink v0.9’s but did note that v1.0 satellites have been upgraded to be “100% demisable”. This means that when each spacecraft reenters Earth’s atmosphere, everything down to the last shred of mylar is now expected to burn up before reaching the ground, reducing the (already miniscule) risk of debris harming people or property. Similarly, SpaceX implied several months before launch that v1.0 spacecraft would include tweaks to limit their reflectiveness after the astronomy community stoked fears about potential impacts.

Advertisement
A stack of 60 Starlink v0.9 satellites are prepared for their orbital launch debut in May 2019. (SpaceX)
60 v0.9 Starlink satellites ahead of their May 2019 debut. (SpaceX)
60 Starlink v1.0 satellites prepare for flight. A move to matte finishes is one immediately visible albedo-related change present on the new design. (SpaceX)

Aside from a general improvement to the overall visual fit-and-finish of the v1.0 spacecraft, SpaceX’s official comments on the matter indicated that the most substantial changes between v0.9 and v1.0 were more related to each spacecraft’s advanced electronics and payloads. In the case of Starlink, each satellite’s primary payload is a high-performance suite of electronically-steered phased array antennas. Initially developed to improve the flexibility of tracking and scanning radars used by military fighter aircraft, phased array antennas (and radar) allow multiple beams to be aimed without physically moving the antenna.

SpaceX says that Starlink v1.0 satellites added a number of Ka-band antennas alongside upgraded Ku-band hardware similar to what was installed on Starlink v0.9. Ka and Ku refer to similar but different communications frequencies, with Ku-band generally offering greater reliability and cloud/rain tolerance, while Ka-band is a bit more sensitive to environmental factors but offers a substantially higher theoretical bandwidth.

60 Starlink v1.0 satellites deploy in one giant, ~18-metric-ton blob. What look like white cutouts are each spacecraft’s large solar array seen prior to deployment. (SpaceX)
On the right, Starlink’s phased array antennas are visible as four shiny panels on the matte aluminum rear of the satellite bus. (SpaceX)

According to SpaceX engineers speaking during the Starlink-1 launch webcast, Starlink v1.0 satellites offer an unexpected 400% increase in overall bandwidth, meaning they can theoretically transmit four times as much data per any given second. Additionally, Starlink v1.0 satellites were said to feature antennas with twice as many steerable beams, meaning that they can effectively serve two times as many regions simultaneously. It’s unclear if the addition of Ka-band antennas is the sole source of these substantial improvements.

Furthermore, during the Starlink v0.9 launch, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk indicated that the 60 satellites represented a bandwidth of more than 1 terabit per second (Tbps), translating to ~17 Gbps per satellite. More likely than not, Musk was speaking aspirational and the v0.9 satellites actually represented more like ~200-300 Gbps worth of throughput, with the additional of Ka-band antennas and perhaps general technology upgrades bringing v1.0 satellites to a nominal ~17 Gbps apiece.

For now, 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites are now in orbit and are rapidly spreading out after their bizarre but effective blob-style deployment. With any luck, all 60 will successfully deploy their solar arrays and begin propelling themselves towards their final operating orbits with krypton-fueled ion thrusters. Stay tuned for updates from SpaceX!

Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.

Advertisement

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Elon Musk reveals when SpaceX will perform first-ever Starship catch

“Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go,” Musk said.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk revealed when SpaceX would perform the first-ever catch attempt of Starship, its massive rocket that will one day take life to other planets.

On Tuesday, Starship aced its tenth test flight as SpaceX was able to complete each of its mission objectives, including a splashdown of the Super Heavy Booster in the Gulf, the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, and another splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean.

It was the first launch that featured a payload deployment:

SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative

SpaceX was transparent that it would not attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster, something it has done on three previous occasions: Flight 5 on October 13, 2024, Flight 7 on January 16, and Flight 8 on March 6.

This time, it was not attempting to do so. However, there are bigger plans for the future, and Musk detailed them in a recent post on X, where he discussed SpaceX’s plans to catch Starship, which would be a monumental accomplishment.

Musk said the most likely opportunities for SpaceX to catch Starship itself would be Flight 13, Flight 14, and Flight 15, but it depends on “how well the V3 flights go.”

The Starship launched with Flight 10 was a V2, which is the same size as the subsequent V3 rocket but has a smaller payload-to-orbit rating and is less powerful in terms of initial thrust and booster thrust. Musk said there is only one more V2 rocket left to launch.

V3 will be the version flown through 2026, as V4, which will be the most capable Starship build SpaceX manufactures, is likely to be the first company ship to carry humans to space.

Musk said that SpaceX planned to “hopefully” attempt a catch of Starship in 2025. However, it appears that this will likely be pushed back to 2026 due to timing.

SpaceX will take Starship catch one step further very soon, Elon Musk confirms

SpaceX would need to launch the 11th and 12th test flights by the end of the year in order to get to Musk’s expected first catch attempt of Flight 13. It’s not unheard of, but the company will need to accelerate its launch rate as it has only had three test flights this year.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Robotaxi rival Waymo confirms massive fleet expansion in Bay Area

New data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said Waymo had 1,429 vehicles operating in California, and 875 of them were “associated with a terminal in San Francisco,” according to The SF Examiner.

Published

on

Credit: Uber

Tesla Robotaxi rival Waymo has confirmed that it has expanded its fleet of driverless ride-sharing vehicles in the Bay Area of California massively since its last public disclosure.

It is perhaps one of the most important metrics in the race for autonomous supremacy, along with overall service area. Tesla has seemed to focus on the latter, while expanding its fleet slowly to maintain safety.

Waymo, on the other hand, is bringing its fleet size across the country to significant levels. In March, it told The SF Examiner that there were over 300 Waymos in service in the San Francisco area, which was not a significant increase from the 250 vehicles on the road it reported in August 2023.

In May, the company said in a press release that it had more than 1,500 self-driving Waymos operating nationwide. More than 600 were in the San Francisco area.

Tesla analyst compares Robotaxi to Waymo: ‘The contrast was clear’

However, new data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said Waymo had 1,429 vehicles operating in California, and 875 of them were “associated with a terminal in San Francisco,” according to The SF Examiner.

CPUC data from March 2025 indicated that there were a total of 1,087 Waymo vehicles in California, with 762 located in San Francisco. Some were test vehicles, others were deployed to operate as ride-sharing vehicles.

The company’s August update also said that it deploys more than 2,000 commercial vehicles in the United States. That number was 1,500 in May. There are also roughly 400 in Phoenix and 500 in Los Angeles.

While Waymo has done a good job of expanding its fleet, it has also been able to expand its footprint in the various cities it is operating in.

Most recently, it grew its geofence in Austin, Texas, to 90 square miles. This outpaced Tesla for a short period before the company expanded its Robotaxi service area earlier this week to roughly 170 square miles.

Tesla one-ups Waymo once again with latest Robotaxi expansion in Austin

The two companies have drastically different approaches to self-driving, as Waymo utilizes LiDAR, while Tesla relies solely on cameras for its suite. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made no mistake about which he believes to be the superior solution to autonomy.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla launches Full Self-Driving in a new region

Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched its Full Self-Driving suite in a new region, marking a significant step in the company’s progress to expand its driver assistance suite on a global scale.

It is also the first time Tesla has launched FSD in a right-hand-drive market.

Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.

Previously, Basic and Enhanced Autopilot suites were available, but the FSD capability now adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, along with all the features of the previous two Autopilot suites.

It is the first time Tesla has launched the suite by name in a region outside of North America. In China, Tesla has “City Autopilot,” as it was not permitted to use the Full Self-Driving label for regulatory reasons.

However, Tesla still lists Full Self-Driving (Supervised) as available in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

The company teased the launch of the suite in Australia earlier this week, and it appeared to have been released to select media members in the region earlier this week:

Tesla FSD upcoming Australia release seemingly teased bv media

The rollout of Full Self-Driving in the Australian market will occur in stages, as Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with Hardware 4 will receive the first batch of FSD rollouts in the region.

TechAU also reported that “the initial deployment of FSDs in Australia will roll out to a select number of people outside the company, these people are being invited into Tesla’s Early Access Program.”

Additionally, the company reportedly said it is “very close” to unlocking FSD in customer cars:

Each new Tesla sold will also come with a 30-day free trial of the suite.

Australia is the sixth country to officially have Full Self-Driving available to them, following the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Here’s the first look at the suite operating in Australia:

Continue Reading

Trending