How Starlink Triggered a New Commercial Space Race
In this Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary, we show how Elon Musk’s satellite company sparked government scrutiny—and encouraged deep-pocketed rivals.
The largest constellation of satellites currently orbiting the planet is run by a mercurial individual who needs no introduction. But yes—it’s Elon Musk, and his satellite company is transforming communications across the globe.
Starlink, a unit of Musk’s rocket-ship endeavor SpaceX, operates more than 5,000 satellites that provide high-speed internet to close to 2.5 million people in places that, until recently, couldn’t easily access the web. Musk accomplished this in a relatively short period of time, given the time frame that usually governs heaving hardware into orbit. But Starlink’s quick success and the unpredictable nature of its owner have become a recipe for controversy. In this Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary, How Starlink Kickstarted a Consumer Space Race, we explain that deep-pocketed rivals like Musk’s fellow multibillionaire Jeff Bezos are seeing an opportunity—and moving on it.