Of the 60 launched only 3 failed to work as expected. Communication with 3 of the satellites has been lost. The failed satellites will eventually enter earth’s atmosphere and burn up.
The rest of the 57 satellites have been working, according to the SpaceX. Forty-five of the satellites have raised their altitudes with their onboard thrusters and have reached their final intended orbits of 342 miles up. Five of the satellites are still in the middle of raising their orbits. The other five are undergoing additional systems checks before they up their orbits. As for the remaining two satellites, SpaceX intentionally fired their onboard thrusters with the goal of crashing them into the planet’s atmosphere. There wasn’t anything wrong with those satellites — the company just wanted to test the process of taking satellites out of commission. That process is important to accurately report to the FCC before they can receive permission to launch more satellites. The 60 they were given permission to fire up into orbit are just the first of more than 12,000 they hope to have orbiting around earth.
Once the current 55 of the 60 satellites are in position then they will begin testing what kind of internet service those satellites will be able to provide. The problem with current satellite internet providers is that the lag prevents true speed utilization and very often leads to high customer dissatisfaction. Many customers feel the current providers charge way too much for the lackluster service they deliver. It is an open question to whether SpaceX or any of these companies will do any better any time in the future.
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