Image: SpaceX
According to Tesla North, SpaceX on Wednesday launched its second-generation Starlink terminal dishes, featuring a new rectangular design, for customers in the United States. So far, SpaceX has already shipped well over 100,000 Starlink terminals with the original design.
The new dish is not available outside the U.S. as of this writing — not even in Canada. The company’s website only shows the new design for visitors with U.S.-based IP addresses, and visitors from outside the U.S. still see the old design.
The new dish does away with the previous, rounded design of the ‘Dishy McFlatface’, as the folks at Starlink lovingly call it, in favour of a rectangular chassis. The 2nd-gen Starlink dish is significantly lighter than before at 4.2 kg (9.2 lbs), as opposed to 7.3 kg (16 lbs) for its circular predecessor.
The rectangular Starlink dish doesn’t have an onboard ethernet port, but an adapter is available as an accessory. The $20 USD ethernet adapter will let users connect a device directly to the Starlink terminal for a wired connection with speeds up to 1 Gbps.
On the newer version, the cable can be detached from the dish, although it is shorter than before at 75 feet (versus 100 feet). Cables of length 75 feet and 150 feet ($85 USD) are available as accessories for the new dish, along with a new cable routing kit and masonry routing kit.
The new rectangular Starlink dish makes improvements to mounting, with five different mounting mechanisms now available:
Pipe adapter mount: “Designed to attach to any pole with a max diameter of 2.5” (64 mm). Slide adapter over the top of the existing pole, fasten provided screws, and drop Starlink in,” explains SpaceX.
Short wall mount: “Designed for installation on an exterior wall, near the top of the gable. Drilling required.”
Long wall mount ($45 USD): “Designed for installation on an exterior wall near the top of the gable; extra length provides clearance of overhang when needed. Drilling required.”
Ground pole mount: “Designed for in-ground installation when roof or wall mounting is not possible; requires digging.”
Pivot mount: “Designed for installation on shingled roofs, recommend installing closer to edge for cable routing. Not recommended for tile, slate, and clay roofing.”
Here are the three modes of the new and improved Starlink dish, according to the install guide:
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the “pattern on the Starlink router is orbital transfer ellipse from Earth to Mars.”
Pattern on the Starlink router is orbital transfer ellipse from Earth to Mars
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2021
Starlink is warning customers of shipping delays for the new dishes, caused by the ongoing semiconductor shortage. For the time being, the new dish is only available in the U.S. No word yet on a Canadian or global release.
Here are some relevant PDF files for the new Starlink dish:
You can visit Starlink.com to check out the new rectangular dish for yourself (provided you’re in the U.S.).
