SpaceX founder Elon Musk is planning to launch 4,425 satellites to provide high-speed internet to the world.
According to CNBC, SpaceX’s Vice President of Satellite Government Affairs Patricia Cooper said Wednesday that the company will begin testing on the satellites later this year. Cooper also said that a prototype will be launched before next year and another again in early 2018. He added that SpaceX wants to begin launching the actual satellite system in 2019.
Musk’s company previously filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to launch the satellite system, but provided few details on how it would be rolled out.
“Once fully deployed, the SpaceX System will pass over virtually all parts of the Earth’s surface and therefore, in principle, have the ability to provide ubiquitous global service,” the FCC application reads. “Every point on the Earth’s surface will see, at all times, a SpaceX satellite.”
These are not the only big plans for the Tesla CEO. In a TED talk, Musk said that he is also working on creating an underground freeway via The Boring Company, which he founded in 2016. He also sees Hyperloop—his planned above-ground transit system that would propel passenger pods at airliner speeds—as useful for travel between Washington D.C. and New York City.
