
SpaceX’s Starlink launch debut to orbit dozens of satellites later this month - hsnewman
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-schedules-starlink-launch-debut/
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killyp
Well that is orders of magnitude faster than I expected. Didn't they just get
FCC approval?

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londons_explore
Rumour is the satellites are mostly non-functional.

They are apparantly lacking 2 out of 4 antenna, and don't have the inter
satellite laser links. Some might just be dumb mass simulators.

It would be very hard to turn that into any kind of commercial service.

I'd say it's more a test of the satellite deployment system and an attempt at
removing risk from the remainder of the project.

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perilunar
Not just a rumour, it's mentioned in the article:

> This group of spacecraft will have no inter-satellite laser (optical) links,
> a feature that would transform an orbiting Starlink constellation into a
> vast mesh network. According to FCC filings, the first 75 satellites will be
> of the partial-prototype variety, followed soon after by the first
> spacecraft with a more or less finalized design and a full complement of
> hardware.

