Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite and space-based internet innovation, earned quite a decent amount of money last year which is estimated to be around $1.4 billion. This is actually a huge and substantial increase of what they had made and achieved before. But even though they had earned more than six times than before, it was not what Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, had intended and set for them in the previous year.
In 2015, when Starlink was first being discussed, they had predicted that it could earn around $12 billion and have an amazing profit of $7 billion by 2022 which it unfortunately could not achieve.
Starlink was also hoping to get lots of customers, but it didn’t happen as fast as they wanted. By the end of 2022, they had a little over a million customers, which is still a lot, but they were hoping for 20 million. So, they fell short of their target.
Starlink is a network of satellites that provide internet service. It’s become really important for places like Ukraine because it helps them communicate even during a war.
Recently, Starlink also signed a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide satellite services. Elon Musk said in 2021 that they might make Starlink a public company once they can predict how much money it will make reliably.
Despite falling short of its goals, SpaceX made some money in the first part of 2023 because of Starlink. They hadn’t been making a profit for a couple of years, but Starlink helped them turn things around.
In summary, Starlink has shown impressive growth but failed to meet some ambitious targets. It plays a crucial role in providing internet access, especially in challenging situations, but faces competition and financial uncertainties.