As of this same date, there are 2,793 of the 3,055 satellites still in orbit. A large number of satellites from the Starlink Group 4-7 were lost to a geomagnetic storm. New groups of satellites will also need to be launched to replace older units that are outdated or damaged by orbital decay. SpaceX is constantly working on improving the technology to reduce the effect of orbital decay and extend the lifespan of the Starlink satellites.
The satellites are in low orbit and are not Geo Sync satellites. (Geo sync are in elliptical orbit)
“The satellites are in low orbit and are not Geo Sync satellites”
^^^This is my favorite thing about Starlink.^^^
We decided to ride out the COVID shutdowns in our vacation home in northeast PA. Originally I was using my phone as a hotspot (Verizon) for work but when the nice weather rolls around the area becomes a vacation destination and cell signal suffers. OK. Figured I’ll get satellite internet. Went with Hughesnet and while it was fine in many respects it’s biggest weakness is latency. It was wholly unsuitable for video conferencing and when I was on meetings someone would ask me a question and by the time my response got to them they would be on another topic. Starlink completely eliminated this and costs me $70 per month less than Hughesnet.
There are some other benefits as well. I have faster download and upload speeds, I can control heating the dish from the app on my phone to melt snow/ice, and the signal is so robust that in 5 months I have not lost signal due to rain/snow (something that would happen regularly with both my Hughesnet and Direct TV dishes.)