SpaceX unveils backpack-sized 'Starlink Mini' satellite internet antenna for $599

SpaceX is rolling out a compact version of its Starlink antennas called "Mini," which the company is advertising as a mobile option for its satellite internet customers.

"Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go," according to a customer email sent by SpaceX on Wednesday and viewed by CNBC.

The company is offering a "limited number" of the Starlink Mini antennas for $599 each in an early access release. That's $100 more than the base model "Standard" antenna sold with its Residential service, although the company aspires to reduce that price tag.

"Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable," SpaceX wrote in the email.

In addition to the upfront hardware cost, service for a Starlink Mini is effectively $150 per month — as SpaceX is offering the service for a Mini as an additional $30 per month bundle on top of a $120 per month Residential service. The "Mini Roam" service "can be used anywhere in the United States" but has a cap of 50 gigabytes of data per month, with Starlink charging $1 per gigabyte for additional data.

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The Starlink Mini antenna is about the size and weight of a laptop, at just over 2 pounds and measuring at about 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches. It's roughly half the size and a third of the weight of Starlink's Standard antenna.

SpaceX's email says Starlink Mini comes with a built-in WiFi router and "lower power consumption" than its other antennas, yet it still boasts download speeds over 100 megabits per second.

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