Each week, SpaceX launches satellites to build out its ever-growing constellation of Starlink satellites. That provides broadband internet service to users on the ground.
But Starlink satellites are only one part of the equation. Starlink users also need to have their hands on one of SpaceX’s satellite internet kits to enable them to connect from anywhere with a good view of the sky.
SpaceX recently posted a video on X that offers a glimpse at how these kits are made in the company’s factory outside of Austin, Texas. The video shows a few close-ups of the factory floor, where machines manufacture components for the standard Starlink kit on what looks like automated sections of the assembly line.
“Raw plastic pellets come in, raw aluminum comes in, and we make those into the Starlink kits, and then ship them right out to customers homes,” John Federspiel, senior director for Starlink product engineering, says in the video. “Right now, we’re producing 15,000 a day straight out of the factory.”
The company also notes that the factory is less than two years old, and in that time, it’s gone from zero to producing over 70,000 kits per week while employing over 1,000 workers.
Located in the Bastrop community, about 30 miles east of Austin, the video also details Starlink’s plans to ramp up production in the factory, which the company is currently expanding.
“We’re going to add over a million square feet of manufacturing space over the course of this year, and allow us to continue to insource more of our manufacturing processes,” Alexandra Noe, senior director of Starlink production, says in the video, “so we can continue to go from raw material to completed kit within the walls of this factory.”
Starlink says the expansion will address the growing demand for Starlink internet access, as the previous iteration of the production line was already operating at max capacity.
SpaceX originally announced their plans for a global satellite internet project back in 2015. Starlink now produces two kinds of kits for the consumer market, which use an antenna to connect to Starlink’s satellites.
As of Feb. 2025, over 7,000 Starlink satellites are in orbit. The company says more than five million people currently use their internet services.
