[ad_1]
The statement followed a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The two richest men in the world are fighting in front of US regulators over heavenly real estate for their fleets of satellites.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to operate the Starlink communications satellites in a lower orbit than originally planned.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com Inc. says the move would risk causing interference and collisions with its planned Kuiper satellites, which, like Starlink, are designed to broadcast Internet service from space.
A dispute that would normally be confined to regulatory filings spills into public view, in an argument that showcases the big personalities involved as billionaires chase dreams into the sky.
“It is the changes proposed by SpaceX that would hamper competition between satellite systems,” Amazon tweeted Tuesday from its official news account. “It’s clearly in SpaceX’s best interest to stifle competition in the cradle if they can, but it’s certainly not in the public interest.”
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com Inc. says the move would risk causing interference and collisions with its planned Kuiper satellites, which, like Starlink, are designed to broadcast Internet service from space.
The statement followed a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“There is no point in the public hampering Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years of operation,” Musk said in a tweeted response to the coverage of CNBC reporter Michael Sheetz.
Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has launched more than 1,000 satellites for its Starlink Internet service and is recruiting first customers in the US, UK and Canada. Last year Amazon obtained FCC clearance for a fleet of 3,236 satellites and has yet to launch any.
Amazon had previously urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s request for lower orbits. According to information filed with the agency, the change would place SpaceX satellites in the middle of the Kuiper system’s orbits.
SpaceX has pushed back calls to the FCC, saying its plans will not increase interference for what it called Amazon’s “still fledgling plans.”
A lower orbit allows for faster internet service because the signal does not travel that far. SpaceX told the FCC that having the satellites closer to Earth reduced the risk of space debris because it would fall out of orbit faster than taller spacecraft.
SpaceX plans to eventually operate some 12,000 satellites and has obtained FCC clearance for about 4,400 birds, including 1,584 at 550 kilometers – where its satellites currently orbit. The company is asking permission to stage 2,824 other satellites at the same approximate altitude, rather than twice as high as originally proposed.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
[ad_2]
Source link