A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rises after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying 25 Starlink internet satellites on April 6, 2026 as seen from Pasadena, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images
SpaceX’s space-based internet service, Starlink, is the big money maker for the company.
Its 12 million active users around the world helped bring in more than 61% of SpaceX’s 2025 revenue. Even when Musk swore he would never take SpaceX public, he considered spinning Starlink off on its own IPO.Starlink works by beaming internet connectivity down from a hive of satellites operating in low-Earth orbit.Before SpaceX, the space industry was wary of using such low-lying tech.
Telecom satellites of old lie in geosynchronous orbit some 22,000 miles above ground, which leads to frustratingly long lag times. Any closer, and those big dishes outside people’s homes wouldn’t be able to keep a stable connection with them.But SpaceX solved those drawbacks, creating a constellation of thousands of interconnected satellites in low-Earth orbit, whipping by just a few hundred miles above ground and offering low latencies.
The company also stunned naysayers by developing receivers, called phased array antennas, that can track satellites across the sky and keep connections stable, all at $500 or less. And it’s all truly wireless. No need for subterranean cables.
Leveraging SpaceX’s in-house rockets, the company has launched more than 10,000 satellites — more than any other institution, company or country in the world.
Competitors like Amazon Leo are by comparison just ramping up.
