Comment by tristanj

Several issues:

1) The short lifespan is intentional. There is no reason to keep satellites beyond a few years because older satellites are quickly becoming obsolete. The first generation Starlink sats are now 4 generations old, and are practically ancient at this point. SpaceX wants the satellites to fall, so they can be replaced by updated ones.

2) SpaceX could easily increase the lifespan of Starlink satellites to 10-15+ years, but they don't want to, because of (1), and because they are waiting for Starship to launch larger satellites at 10x lower cost.

3) Despite continually replacing satellites every ~5 years, Starlink is operating at a very profitable 40%+ profit margin.

4) Starlink is expanding to direct-to-cell 5G at speeds up to 150Mbps, which vastly expands the TAM from just broadband usage to all cellular data usage. Rural areas may never get a terrestrial cellular buildout, since it will be cheaper for companies to partner with SpaceX for coverage than to build their own towers. A cellular tower can cost upwards of >$250k.