SpaceX continues to grow Starlink satellite network

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX was expected to launch more Starlink satellites into orbit on Friday from Florida's Space Coast on Friday evening. 

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation made up of thousands of small, mass-produced satellites that are in low Earth orbit and communicate with transceivers on the ground. 

Over the past five years, SpaceX has launched more than 4,000 Starlink satellites which the space company says are providing high-speed internet to the hardest-to-reach places in the United States and abroad. Since Starlink's debut in 2018, SpaceX says it has worked to deploy upgrades that have increased "bandwidth and increased reliability."

FILE IMAGE - ODESA, UKRAINE - MARCH 15, 2022 - SpaceX Starlink internet terminal installed in Odesa, southern Ukraine (Photo credit: Nina Lyashonok/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

In addition to mobile internet service, Starlink consumer packages are available for both business and residential use.  

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has also made the Starlink satellite communications system available on a number of occasions to help provide internet access and connectivity to areas impacted by war and natural disasters.