SpaceX is aiming to one day manufacture 5,000 next-generation “V3” Starlink satellites per year before increasing the count to 10,000.

CEO Elon Musk mentioned the ambitious target in a presentation to SpaceX employees about its goal to colonize Mars. No timeline was given for the manufacturing targets, but it would drastically increase the scope of Starlink, which currently has 7,500 satellites in orbit, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

Currently, SpaceX is deploying V2 Mini Optimized satellites to improve Starlink’s capacity. Upgraded V3 satellites promise to help Starlink deliver gigabit internet speeds to users, with each one featuring 1Tbps of download bandwidth, a 10x increase over the V2 models. But they're expected to be quite large.

“Those Starlink V3 satellites are each the size of roughly a 737 [Boeing plane]. They’re pretty big,” Musk said.

1,000 Starships Per Year

To launch the larger V3 satellites, SpaceX is depending on the Starship vehicle, which can carry a heavier payload into orbit. Although Starship has yet to complete a full mission, the company is also aiming to produce 1,000 Starship vehicles per year to help humanity build a colony on Mars. (The FAA recently cleared SpaceX to launch 25 Starship flights per year from Texas, up from five.)

Earlier this week, SpaceX's ninth Starship test flight didn’t go as planned. The booster rocket exploded before it could land, while the second stage Starship vehicle successfully flew into suborbital trajectory before it spiraled out of control and burned up in atmospheric re-entry.  

Despite the setback, Musk remains bullish on the Starship vehicle. In his presentation, the SpaceX CEO said he expects an upcoming test flight will try to land Starship back on Earth. This will involve using a tower to catch the vehicle, similar to the Heavy Booster landing.  

“So we haven’t done this yet, but we will,” he said. “That’s what we hope to demonstrate later this year, maybe as soon as two or three months from now.”

The goal is to make Starship fully reusable, similar to the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, the vehicle responsible for deploying the existing Starlink network. “The ship is also intended to be reflown multiple times per day,” Musk added. 

His presentation also teased next-generation Starship vehicles that’ll be taller and feature other improvements, including more propellant capacity. The company hopes to launch “version 3” of Starship later this year. Another ambitious goal is to embark on an uncrewed Starship mission to Mars at the end of next year, assuming SpaceX can successfully pull off in-space refueling.

“I think we have a fifty-fifty chance right now,” Musk said. 

Still, Musk has made big promises for space exploration and satellite internet before only for them to be delayed or canceled, including a mission to the Moon for 2023.

As for Starlink, the company has already filed an official request with the Federal Communications Commission to expand the network to nearly 30,000 satellites, up from the 11,908 it currently has the authority to operate. In his presentation, Musk also reiterated the company’s plan to create a Starlink constellation for Mars.