SpaceX to Launch First 1Tbps GEN3 Starlink Broadband Satellites in H1 2026

SpaceX’s Starlink service, which offers ultrafast broadband speeds to the UK and globally via a massive constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), has published a new network update that reveals how the first of their third generation (GEN3) satellites will launch during the first half of 2026. Assuming their Starship rockets stop exploding.

At present Starlink has nearly 8,000 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (c.4,300 are v2 / V2 Mini) – mostly at altitudes of c.500-600km – and they’ll add thousands more by the end of 2027. Residential customers in the UK usually pay from £75 a month, plus £299 for hardware (currently free for most areas) on the ‘Standard’ unlimited data plan (kit price may vary due to different offers), which promises UK latency times of 28-36ms, downloads of 103-258Mbps and uploads of 15-26Mbps. Cheaper and more restrictive options also exist for roaming users.

The company’s latest Network Update reveals how they’ve already launched a total cumulative data capacity of around 450Tbps (Terabits per second) into orbit. SpaceX added that they’re currently also deploying over 5Tbps (5,000Gbps) of extra capacity each week to the constellation with ongoing launches of the current second generation (GEN2) of satellites via their reusable Falcon 9 rockets (in the past year alone they’ve lofted over 2,300 of these).

The current GEN2 satellites have four times the capacity of the original GEN1 versions, but it’s long been known that SpaceX has developed a larger and more sophisticated GEN3 satellite for future launches (summary of GEN3 details). Each one of these new satellites is designed to provide over a Terabit per second of downlink capacity (1,000Gbps+) and over 200Gbps of uplink capacity to customers on the ground.

However, SpaceX can’t currently launch the larger GEN3s properly – in a way that’s commercially viable – because they require the company’s new mega Starship rocket to be ready for prime time (this is expected to be able to loft around 50-60 GEN3s per flight). But in recent months this has had an annoying tendency to explode, perhaps even a bit more often than SpaceX would like.

The good news is that the latest Network Update reveals how SpaceX is finally “targeting to begin launching its third-generation satellites in the first half of 2026“, although this should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly given Elon Musk’s tendency for missing targets.

Starlink’s July 2025 Network Update

A fundamental design feature of the Starlink network has been the ability to continually add capacity and new capabilities with the launch of additional satellites into the constellation and the introduction of updated satellite designs. Starlink is currently deploying over 5 Tbps (5,000 Gbps) of capacity per week to the constellation with the current second generation of satellites. The current generation of satellite has four times the capacity of the original Starlink satellite versions, which allows us to deploy more capacity per week than the total capacity of any current GEO or full LEO constellation operating today.

Starlink has rapidly improved its service through adding to the constellation with updated satellites. In the past year alone, SpaceX deployed more than 2,300 Starlink satellites, amounting to nearly 450 Tbps of cumulative capacity added in total.

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Starlink continues to scale the network with its third-generation satellites and gateway ground stations. These advancements will add an order of magnitude improvement in capacity compared to the current satellite. SpaceX is targeting to begin launching its third-generation satellites in the first half of 2026.

Each one of these new satellites is designed to provide over a terabit per second of downlink capacity (> 1,000 Gbps) and over 200 Gbps of uplink capacity to customers on the ground. This is more than 10 times the downlink and 24 times the uplink capacity of the second-generation satellites.

Each Starlink launch of third-generation satellites on Starship is projected to add 60 Tbps of capacity to the network, more than 20 times the capacity added with each launch today. Additionally, third-generation satellites will use SpaceX’s next generation computers, modems, beamforming, and switching and will operate at low altitude to further improve the network’s latency.

Starlink’s system is designed to scale rapidly and improve continuously. From satellite design and production to launch and ground infrastructure, Starlink is uniquely positioned to keep pace with rising demand around the world, support the rollout of 5G and advanced services, and remain resilient in the face of natural disasters and infrastructure failures.

As well as orbiting a little bit closer to earth (lower altitude = good for performance, but it does sacrifice coverage), the new GEN3 satellites will also be able to harness more radio spectrum frequency to help support their performance, as well as other enhancements not specifically listed above (newer antennas, larger solar panels etc.). But as above, the timescale for this continue to depend upon SpaceX’s ability to get Starship ready in time.