SpaceX President & Coo meets Jyotiraditya Scindia following Starlink securing satcom licence

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and COO (Chief operating officer) held a high level meeting with the Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. Posting the meet on the social media handle X, Scindia wrote about having a productive meeting with the President & COO of SpaceX, on India’s next frontier in connectivity.

“Had a productive meeting with Ms. Gwynne_Shotwell, President & COO of SpaceX , on India’s next frontier in connectivity. We delved into opportunities for collaboration in satellite communications to power Digital India’s soaring ambitions and empower every citizen across the country,” Scindia tweeted.

He added, “With India’s digital revolution under the leadership of PM Modi ji, satellite technologies are not just relevant, they’re transformative. Ms. Shotwell appreciated the license granted to Starlink, calling it a great start to the journey.”

With this license, Starlink becomes the third operator after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications to receive approval from the Indian government. Amazon’s Kuiper project is awaiting regulatory clearance.

Starlink’s entry could become a game-changer for India’s underserved regions, where internet access is still either patchy or completely absent. Unlike conventional services dependent on geostationary satellites stationed at nearly 36,000 km above Earth, Starlink uses a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, currently numbering around 7,000 and expected to grow to over 40,000 in the future.