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The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved lowering the orbits of 1,600 broadband satellites proposed by SpaceX from an altitude of 1,500 kilometers to 550 kilometers. SpaceX says the adjustment will allow for lower latency in data transmissions and reduce the risk of collisions in orbit by allowing any defunct satellites to burn up in the atmosphere within five years without the use of propellant.

SpaceX says the lower orbit will also put more distance between its planned Starlink constellation, which will deliver Internet connectivity from orbit using Ku-band and Ka-band frequencies, and similar constellations proposed by OneWeb and Telesat. However, these competing organizations challenged the proposed change in orbit, saying that SpaceX’s plan to use Ku-band ground stations to receive Starlink’s data signals would interfere with the operation of their own satellite constellations. The FCC rebuffed the challenge, saying that the risk of interference was actually reduced because Starlink would not need its signals to be as strong in order to reach the ground stations if satellites are deployed in a lower orbit.

The lower orbits will also allow some cost savings in deploying Starlink by allowing up to 16 fewer spacecraft to deploy the satellites.

“Starlink production is well underway, and the first group of satellites have already arrived at the launch site for processing,” SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement.

SpaceX has been testing two prototype Starlink satellites that it launched in February 2018, including some tests performed in collaboration with the U.S. Defense Department. It plans to begin launching fully operational satellites as early as May. With the new lower orbits, it expects to meet or exceed the FCC’s requirement that half the constellation be deployed by March 2024 and the full constellation be deployed within nine years of the original approval.