FILE PHOTO: A SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft sits on launch pad 39A prior to the uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

(Reuters) - Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX has raised more than $1 billion in financing in the last six months as it aims to roll out an ambitious high-speed internet service by using a constellation of satellites to beam signals from space.

The company raised here $486.2 million in an equity offering, starting December, and another bit.ly/2W1QMJD $535.7 million in an offering that began in April, its regulatory filings on Friday showed.

The rocket company on Thursday launched the first batch of 60 small satellites into low-Earth orbit for Musk’s new Starlink internet service.

Musk sees the Starlink venture as an important new revenue stream for his California-based company, whose launch service income he expects to top out at around $3 billion a year.

At least 12 launches carrying similar payloads are needed to achieve constant internet coverage of most of the world, Musk said. For now, Starlink is only authorized for U.S. operations.