Starlink’s satellite internet already has half a million preorders

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Starlink, the satellite internet service that’s part of SpaceX, has already taken 500,000 preorders. What’s impressive here isn’t the number, it’s that CEO Elon Musk is predictably bearish on being able to meet the demand.

That bit of info came from Musk’s own Twitter account, which was replying to the CNBC reporter who broke the news over the preorder milestone.

The only thing that could stop half a million households from getting their Starlink internet? Urban density, which is going to be a problem for any satellite-based internet service. Still, Musk says that won’t be an appreciable challenge until Starlink gets millions of users.

That makes sense if you think about it. The difficulty in urban areas is aiming the feeds from the satellites to individual dishes. It’s hard enough to aim from space to the ground, and things like apartments of differing heights compound the issue.

READ MORE: Starlink’s internet speeds are dropping as more people join the service

SpaceX has said it wants to put 12,000 of its cubesats up into near-Earth orbit to provide the Starlink service across the globe. That lofty goal will be expensive, possibly as much as $10 billion once completed.

With a commercial launch date that’s still up in the air, it seems SpaceX is going to have to keep burning cash to keep the dream of accessible internet alive.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.