This week, Elon Musk’s Starlink reached the milestone of surpassing four million users, marking a notable increase of one million customers since the end of May.
The satellite internet service has been on an upward trajectory since its launch in October 2020, almost four years ago.
SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, confirmed this achievement on Thursday through a post on Musk’s social network X, where they expressed gratitude to their vast user base.
Starlink President Gwynne Shotwell foreshadowed the announcement during a meeting with the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and Texas lawmakers on Tuesday.
Starlink takes pride in providing connectivity to isolated communities and remote areas, whether in rural parts of the United States or regions affected by conflict, such as Yemen, the first Middle Eastern country to benefit from the company’s satellite service earlier this month.
However, astronomers are not pleased with Starlink’s continued growth.
Surpassing four million subscribers will likely fuel further ambitions for growth, especially considering the rapid pace at which customers have increased.
In December 2022, Starlink reached its first million users. Less than a year later, in September 2023, the company hit two million. By May of this year, the figure had risen to three million, and now, just four months later, the four-million milestone has been reached.
Starlink’s satellite constellation currently consists of around 6,400 satellites, which not only serve rural areas but also major commercial industries such as airlines and cruise ships.
Nevertheless, the increasing number of satellites in orbit has raised concerns among astronomers, who are alarmed by the rise in unwanted radiation that makes it harder to observe the stars.
Light streaks from the satellites have been a concern for some time, but now scientists are also warning about radio signals from the new Mini Starlink “V2” satellites, which emit interference 32 times stronger than previous models.
Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director