Is There Space for 12,000 More Satellites Up There?

SpaceX wants to launch nearly 12,000 satellites into orbit, nearly ten times the number of active satellites currently up there.Recently, SpaceX announced its plan to provide better Internet to people around the world with a constellation of 4,425 broadband satellites between 2019 and 2024. They�ll orbit in 83 different planes closer to Earth than most existing communications satellites. And SpaceX isn�t stopping there. Looking ahead, the company hopes to add another 7,500 satellites in even lower orbits for faster signals in heavily populated areas.

That all sounds great. But how can we just put almost 12,000 more satellites into orbit? Space seems infinite, but there�s a lot of stuff already up there. The key to adding new satellites is that they don�t all go in the same place�

Some satellites are in a High Earth Orbit, about 22,000 miles above the planet. This is a sweet spot for geosynchronous satellites; they orbit the Earth once per day so seem to hover above one point on Earth, a great location for weather monitoring and communications satellites. Closer to home are Medium Earth Orbit satellites, some 12,500 miles above the Earth�s surface. Orbits here are consistent and dependable making this an ideal region for GPS satellites.

And lastly we have satellites in Low Earth Orbit, the area between 100 and 1,200 miles above the planet. These satellites are in circular orbits that vary depending on the mission needs, and this is also where the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope orbit. It�s the easiest region to get to, so it�s a pretty popular one.