SpaceX seeks FCC approval for 100,000 Starlink satellites

SpaceX has filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission seeking authorization to deploy a third-generation Starlink constellation of 100,000 satellites, a proposal that would represent a tenfold increase over its current fleet and the company's most ambitious regulatory bid to date.

The filing, submitted on June 30 under the designation SAT-LOA-20260630-00264, describes a system explicitly designed to serve both broadband consumers and what SpaceX calls the coming wave of "AI-powered devices."pcmag+1

A System Built for AI

In the application, SpaceX frames the Gen 3 constellation in sweeping terms. "The artificial intelligence revolution promises a supersonic tsunami of progress with the capability to deliver transformative prosperity to billions and carry the light of human consciousness far into the future," the company wrote in its filing.nextbigfuture

The Gen 3 system would consist of 100,000 satellites operating in very-low-Earth-orbit, configured in two bands of closely stacked orbital shells at altitudes between 323 and 327.5 kilometers and 473 and 477.5 kilometers. SpaceX says the system would deliver "extremely low-latency and multi-gigabit symmetrical throughput" for consumers, enterprises, government users, and AI devices. The company seeks to operate across Ku-, Ka-, V-, E-, W-, and D-band spectrum.x+1

The filing is separate from SpaceX's January 2026 application to deploy up to one million satellites dedicated to orbital data centers for AI processing.satnews+1

Regulatory Landscape

SpaceX currently operates roughly 10,400 satellites in orbit. In January, the FCC authorized SpaceX to deploy up to 15,000 Gen 2 satellites, doubling its earlier approval but still leaving roughly half of its original 29,988-satellite Gen 2 request pending. The Gen 3 proposal dwarfs all previous filings.satnews+2

The application comes as Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 1.87% faces its own FCC deadline to have approximately 1,600 Project Kuiper satellites in orbit by the end of July 2026, with its full 3,236-satellite constellation due by 2029. Competitors including Amazon and Viasat ↘ 4.34% are expected to participate in the public comment period that the FCC will open on the Gen 3 filing.facebook

Scale and Timeline

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previewed the 100,000-satellite ambition in early June during a conversation with JPMorgan Chase ↗ 1.25% CEO Jamie Dimon, stating the company would "put in orbit probably 100,000 satellites just for communications." The company has indicated that V3 satellites could begin launching aboard Starship as early as late 2026.pcmag+1

Given the scale of the proposal and the spectrum coordination required, a decision timeline could extend well beyond 18 months, following the pattern set by the Gen 2 application that SpaceX first filed in 2020 and that remains only partially approved six years later.satnews+1