SpaceX wants 100,000 satellites in VLEO, making it the default orbit for the space industry

On July 6 2026, SpaceX asked the FCC for authority to fly Gen3 Starlink 100,000 satellites spread across two Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) shells at roughly 325 km and 475 km. This is a more than sixfold increase over the 15,000 satellites the FCC has approved for Starlink so far and in orbits far lower than Starlink's original constellation. 

While Starlink built its original business at 550 km and higher, Starlink already runs more than 650 satellites at 340 to 370 km to support direct to cell service. It moved lower when a real business opportunity emerged in the form of direct to device connectivity, and Gen3 is the next step and a full commitment to VLEO as the default orbit for the next generation of the constellation.

Below 450 km, residual atmosphere drags an unpowered satellite out of the sky within weeks. For sustained operations below, significant material science and physics problems need to be solved. Two key solutions are in the early stages of validation:

The first is propulsion. Air breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) ingests the residual atmosphere itself, mostly atomic oxygen, as reaction mass converts the abrasive oxygen into propellant. ESA's DISCOVERER program and NATO backed work at Kreios Space are pushing this from research into flight hardware. Once ABEP is flight qualified, a VLEO satellite trades a lifespan measured in weeks and months for one primarily limited only by the fuel it carries. 

The second is autonomy. A constellation spread across two tightly stacked shells at 325 km and 475 km, with satellites moving between altitudes and inclinations as SpaceX's own filing describes, cannot run on ground computed maneuvers alone. Spacecraft in VLEO should hold station, avoid collisions, and execute rendezvous and proximity operations with minimal supervision from the ground. Pair that with ABEP and a satellite gains the ability to not just survive at 325 km, but to actively move, between shells, between inclinations, even between orbits, in response to demand.

Propulsion solves how long a satellite can stay in VLEO. Autonomy solves how it moves once it gets there. Together they turn a fixed shell into a fluid, maneuverable layer of orbit, exactly what SpaceX's own request for flexible altitude and inclination assignment assumes will exist.

For investors, the signal is clear. The world’s largest satellite operator just announced to make VLEO its primary orbit at a scale that dwarfs every LEO constellation flown or proposed before it. That is a strong vote that the drag problem gets solved in time to matter, and it will pull capital toward the propulsion and autonomy companies that make it possible.

For founders building in VLEO, the filing is validation and warning at the same time. Validation, because the largest player in the industry just confirmed where the puck is going. Warning, because it will  be hard to compete with an even partially built 100,000 satellite constellation for orbital slots, spectrum, and coordination. 

Everyone still talks about LEO as the orbit that matters. As of July 6, VLEO is the New New Thing.