Analyst on Starlink’s rapid rise: “Nothing short of mind-blowing”

Enlarge / 60 Starlink satellites stacked for launch at SpaceX facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2019. (credit: SpaceX)

According to the research firm Quilty Space, SpaceX's Starlink satellite Internet business is now profitable.

During a webinar on Thursday, analysts from the firm outlined the reasons why they think SpaceX has been able to achieve a positive cash flow in its space Internet business just five years after the first batch of 60 satellites were launched.

The co-founder of the firm, Chris Quilty, said the rapidity of Starlink's rise surprised a lot of people, including himself. "A lot of industry veterans kind of scoffed at the idea," he said. "We'd seen this before."