SpaceX’s Starlink internet service continues to make inroads around the globe.
Starlink provided Wi-Fi on a Boeing 777 jet for the first time today (Oct. 22), during a Qatar Airways flight from the Qatari capital of Doha to London.
The 777 is the “largest and longest-range passenger aircraft equipped with Starlink to date,” SpaceX representatives said in an emailed statement today.
#QatarAirways launches the world’s first Boeing 777 Starlink-equipped flight. @StarlinkWe are proud to be the airline that leads the way, setting new standards in the airline industry. ✈️#QatarAirwaysStarlink pic.twitter.com/347ZnclANbOctober 22, 2024
Qatar Airways marked the milestone with a press release that was sent down to Earth during the flight using Starlink. According the release, the airline will equip its entire 777 fleet with Starlink service — which will be free for passengers — in 2025.
Related: Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy
Qatar Airways also posted on YouTube a video call that its CEO, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, held with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk during the flight, again using Starlink service.
The Doha-based carrier isn’t the only airline that has signed a Starlink service contract: SpaceX has also inked deals with United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and airBaltic, among others.
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SpaceX currently operates more than 6,400 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. That’s an impressive number to be sure, but it’s bound to keep growing; the megaconstellation could eventually swell to 40,000 or so.
“This is the minimum, and it only gets better from here,” Musk said during Monday’s video call with Al Meer.
