Thread by @thesheetztweetz

SpaceX is hosting a media conference call now with CEO @elonmusk about the company’s Starlink internet satellites.

SpaceX is launching its first 60 Starlink satellites tonight (02:30 UTC) on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Call beginning now.

Call will be about 30 minutes long.

Musk on #Starlink: "This is one of the hottest engineering projects I’ve ever seen done."

Musk: There’s a lot of technology, this is very hard, and, quite frankly, none of the past Low Earth Orbit communications constellations "have successfully gone into operation without going bankrupt."

Musk: Each Starlink satellite has "about a terabit of useful connectivity."

Musk: The 60 Starlink satellites "is the heaviest payload Falcon 9 has ever launched, or Falcon Heavy, for that matter."

Musk: Starlink's "initial operational capability would be 6 launches beyond this," assuming they are all successful. "Full coverage after about 24 launches."

Musk: Starlink satellites "automatically maneuver around any orbital debris. We upload the NORAD tracking information" and use it to dodge any collisions.

Musk, on Starlink's Hall effect thrusters: "First time, to my knowledge, that a krypton ion drive has been used in space."

.@MorganLBrennan: How does Starlink fit in SpaceX's long term strategy?

Musk: "We see this as a way for SpaceX to generate revenue that can be used to develop more and more advanced rockets and spaceships."

Musk: "We believe we can use the revenue from Starlink to fund Starship."

Musk: "We don't think we're going to be displacing" telecommunications with Starlink. "This will actually work together well with telcos" because it reaches sparsely populated regions, where it's harder for telecom companies to reach.

Musk on the choice of propulsion for Starlink satellites: "Xenon’s really expensive, krypton’s actually much less expensive.”

.@jackiewattles: When will SpaceX confirm the satellites are working? When will commercial operations begin?

Musk: Will "probably connect with the satellites ... over Tasmania, about an hour after liftoff."

Musk: "We're actually going to show the deployment" of the 60 Starlink satellites but "it will be a very different deployment." It will be very slow, since there isn't "a specific deployment mechanism per satellite."

Musk: "There may be a small amount of contact between the satellites" but he doesn't expect that to effect the deployment process or health of the satellites.

.@joroulette: What are 3 biggest worries about functionality? Is #ProjectKuiper added competition?

Musk: "We feel pretty good about these satellites ... we are trying two different deployment mechanisms for the solar arrays."

Musk: "It is possible the phased array antennas don't work as well as we like" or the thrusters "don't fire up as planned."

"There's a lot of new technology on the satellite."

.@wapodavenport: Are you confident SpaceX has the capital to get Starlink up?

Musk: Funding rounds "have been oversubscribed for SpaceX." Recent round "was more interest than we were seeking."

Musk: "At this point it looks like we have sufficient capital to get to an operational level." #Starlink

.@EmreKelly asks about the number of Starlink satellites needed.

Musk: "One does not need anywhere near 10,000 satellites to be effective."

Musk: "This is kind of version 1 but we have a lot of interesting ideas" for versions 2 and 3.

.@Free_Space: Does SpaceX have customers for Starlink?

Musk: Starlink "has not signed up any customers" but SpaceX is talking to "possible strategic partners," such as telecommunications companies in countries with lots of rural connectivity issues.

Musk: Starlink terminals ("dishes") look like a "flat pizza."

If it's "more or less pointed at the sky it will be fine. It electronically steers its beam" to find the satellites. "Won't even notice that it's switching between satellites."

"These are really cutting edge."

Musk: "You could get this user terminal shipped to you in a box" and "just plug it in" to make it work. #Starlink

.@b0yle: Will the satellites on this launch be part of the operational constellation? Starlink sats made at Redmond, WA facility?

Musk: "Initial constellation will not have" interconnected links. "Will ground bounce off a gateway" to relay "to another satellite."

Musk: "If things go well, SpaceX will have the majority of satellites in orbit" around the Earth. #Starlink

.@kchangnyt: How much of the satellites will return to Earth?

Musk: "It becomes kind of particulate" and "won't be a safety issue at all for people on the ground."

Musk: SpaceX may launch at a rate of about 1,000 to 2,000 Starlink satellites per year.

Musk: These satellites took a couple of months to build. #Starlink

.@marinakoren: Would SpaceX launch satellites from a competitor?

Musk: "Yea, we're happy to launch any satellites ... it's always good to have competition ... there will be at least one other" internet satellite constellation, which "is the best thing for the consumer."

Koren asks about the recent Crew Dragon incident but Musk ends the call.

Musk: "This is way off topic. Thanks everyone."