Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX) has secured Federal Communications Commission approval to provide international telecommunications services, strengthening its ability to expand Starlink Mobile’s global reach.

The FCC granted Space Exploration Holdings LLC global facilities-based and resale authority under Section 214 on Thursday. This authorization supports Starlink Mobile service offerings and enables the company to carry international traffic to markets served by its entities.

Regulatory Scope and Local Permissions

The approval does not automatically authorize Starlink Mobile in every foreign market. SpaceX still needs local spectrum and telecom permissions in individual jurisdictions. However, the regulatory nod strengthens the company’s infrastructure for handling cross-border traffic as its satellite-to-phone footprint grows.

Starlink Mobile currently supplements terrestrial networks through partners including T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS), KDDI, Rogers, and operators across Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

Network Scale and Technology Roadmap

SpaceX says about 650 direct-to-mobile satellites are in orbit. The network is positioned to reach about 1.9 billion people across six continents. The company is preparing a larger technology jump with its next-generation Mobile V2 satellites.

According to the company’s website, Mobile V2 satellites will deliver about 20 times the throughput of first-generation spacecraft. In most environments, the system aims to provide full 5G cellular connectivity comparable to terrestrial service. A SpaceX SEC filing states the system is designed to provide 5G connectivity to unmodified phones and IoT devices.

This push follows SpaceX’s acquisition of about 65 MHz of EchoStar spectrum for U.S. direct-to-device service. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has said combining this spectrum with a larger satellite fleet could make Starlink Mobile "100 times better" than today’s network.

What the Numbers Show

The scale of SpaceX’s current deployment highlights a significant coverage gap relative to terrestrial networks. With only 650 satellites targeting 1.9 billion potential users, the average satellite must support approximately 29,230 people. This high user-to-satellite ratio underscores the strategic importance of the upcoming Mobile V2 rollout, which promises 20 times the throughput of existing hardware to manage density.

Use Cases and Carrier Skepticism

Starlink Mobile has demonstrated practical use cases during terrestrial network outages. The service provided satellite texting during wildfires in Spain that knocked out mobile networks. T-Mobile’s T-Satellite partnership uses Starlink to extend connectivity into dead zones.

Traditional carriers remain skeptical that satellites can match dense terrestrial networks. T-Mobile views direct-to-device connectivity as complementary rather than a replacement for cellular infrastructure. SpaceX aims higher, stating future service will support native calling, streaming, video calls, and seamless movement between satellite and terrestrial networks.

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the StarBurst mission, a small satellite designed to study neutron star mergers and short gamma-ray bursts.

The selection is part of a firm-fixed-price task order under NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity agreement allows NASA to acquire launch services during a 10-year ordering period, with a maximum total value of $1 billion across all contracts.

Mission Details

StarBurst will launch aboard a Bandwagon rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than 2028. The mission aims to observe the entire portion of the sky not blocked by Earth to search for brief, powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.

The satellite will focus on detecting the initial high-energy emission from short gamma-ray bursts, which occur when dense stellar remnants called neutron stars merge. By combining StarBurst’s observations with gravitational-wave measurements and follow-up observations from other telescopes, researchers will study these events through multiple types of signals, an approach known as multimessenger astronomy.

Instrumentation and Science Goals

StarBurst’s science target involves violent neutron star collisions. The SmallSat will watch the entire sky not blocked by Earth for the initial high-energy flashes from short gamma-ray bursts. NASA describes gamma-ray bursts as among "the most powerful explosions in the universe."

The observatory will use 12 CsI(Tl) scintillation detectors sensitive to gamma rays between 30 and 1,000 keV. NASA says StarBurst offers more than five times the effective collecting area of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and could detect as many as 10 short gamma-ray bursts annually.

Scientists will combine those gamma-ray observations with gravitational-wave detections and follow-up telescope measurements, creating a multimessenger view of the same collision. In 2017, astronomers observed neutron-star merger GW170817 through both gravitational waves and gamma rays for the first time, confirming a key connection between short bursts and merging neutron stars.

The mergers also forge heavy elements including gold and platinum. StarBurst principal investigator Daniel Kocevski said studying them can reveal "fundamental physics, the origins of elements, and even the expansion of the universe."

Program Context

StarBurst is part of NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program, which supports lower-cost investigations using small spacecraft and other platforms. The program funds lower-cost astrophysics investigations using SmallSats, balloons and other compact platforms with a $20 million mission cost cap.

NASA’s Launch Services Program Office, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contract.