SpaceX wants to bring superfast Internet to the entire world and plans to launch 4,425 internet satellites to realize this truly grandiose dream.

Elon Musk's SpaceX revealed this breathtaking plan in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing earlier this week. Estimates as to the number of operational in-orbit satellites but most agree the number ranges from 1,000 to 1,500, over 500 of which are from the United States.

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If realized, this project will make SpaceX the largest satellite operator in the world by a huge margin. It will also give SpaceX the potential to dominate the future internet by controlling the most important parts of its infrastructure.

The project should cost SpaceX some $10 billion, said SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk.

Musk said SpaceX will first launch a constellation of 800 satellites aimed at expanding internet coverage in the U.S. Another 2,825 satellites will be positioned in four orbits at different altitudes. The obits will range from 1,150 km to 1,275 km.

"With deployment of the first 800 satellites, SpaceX will be able to provide widespread U.S. and international coverage for broadband services," said SpaceX.

"Once fully optimized through the Final Deployment, the system will be able to provide high bandwidth (up to 1 Gbps per user), low latency broadband services for consumers and businesses in the U.S. and globally."

The satellites will be payloads on SpaceX's fleet of Falcon launch vehicles. Their expected in-orbit service lives range from five to seven years.

"The system is designed to provide a wide range of broadband and communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, government and professional users worldwide," said SpaceX in the FCC filing.

SpaceX's satellites will orbit at altitudes between 1,150 kilometers and 1,275 kilometers. At these altitudes, each satellite can cover a space of around 2,120 kilometers wide. Each satellite will weigh around 850 pounds and be the size of a small car.

SpaceX is designing the overall satellite constellation with cost- effectiveness and reliability in mind. This focus covers the design and manufacturing of the space and ground-based elements; the launch and deployment of the system using SpaceX launch services; development of the user terminals and end-user subscription rates.

TagsSpaceX, Satellites, internet satellites, Elon Musk, Falcon launch vehicles