TradingKey - According to disclosures by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX submitted an application to the FCC this week, seeking approval to launch and operate a third-generation (Gen3) constellation consisting of 100,000 satellites, with the goal of building a global communications infrastructure for the AI era.
The scale of the Gen3 constellation is approximately 6.7 times that of the currently approved second-generation system, which stands at about 15,000 satellites. According to the FCC filing, these 100,000 satellites will be deployed in two sets of low-Earth orbit shells, with altitudes ranging between 323 to 327.5 kilometers and 473 to 477.5 kilometers, respectively. Orbital inclinations cover a range from 26 degrees to 96.9 degrees, the latter being close to a sun-synchronous orbit, allowing SpaceX to flexibly adjust coverage based on traffic demand in different regions globally.
In its application, SpaceX described the Gen3 constellation as a powerful, resilient, and ubiquitous communications infrastructure. Its goal is not only to provide Wi-Fi to remote areas and flights, but also to carry the majority of the world's internet traffic, providing ultra-low latency, multi-gigabit uplink and downlink throughput for government users, enterprises, consumers, and billions of AI devices.
A single Gen3 satellite weighs approximately 2,000 kg, compared to just 575 kg for a second-generation satellite. This weight means they can practically only be launched using SpaceX's Starship system. In terms of communication performance, the downlink capacity of a single satellite has increased to 1 Tbps, which is 10 times the current capacity; uplink capacity has increased to 160-200 Gbps, 22 times the current capacity; and the total capacity for RF and laser backhaul is approximately 4 Tbps.
Regarding frequency, SpaceX has applied to expand into the W-band and D-band (between 92 GHz and 275 GHz), in addition to the already authorized Ku, Ka, V, and E bands. SpaceX noted in the filing that to provide capacity to billions of people and AI devices globally, backhaul capabilities must be significantly expanded.
For the second-generation system, SpaceX originally applied for nearly 30,000 satellites, but the FCC approved only 7,500 in 2022, and did not approve the second batch of 7,500 until early 2026.
It is worth noting that this Gen3 constellation application is a separate initiative from SpaceX's previously proposed "Starmind" space data center project (which plans to launch up to 1 million satellites equipped with AI computing power), and there is currently no direct connection between them. In addition, SpaceX recently acquired Anysphere, the developer of the AI programming tool Cursor, in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. Market analysts believe this acquisition could address SpaceX's shortcomings in AI software engineering, providing technical support for the intelligent operation of its satellite constellations.
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