SpaceX and Amazon spat the world’s richest men against each other on space real estate

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has an estimated net worth of $ 209 billion. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has an estimated net worth of $ 192 billion. (By comparison, even the lowest figure was greater than the annual gross domestic product of more than half of the world’s countries in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund.)

At the center of the back-and-forth is a recent attempt by SpaceX to change its license for Starlink, a massive constellation of Internet satellites, of which SpaceX has already launched more than 900. SpaceX already has permission from the US federal government to launch thousands of satellites to bolster the Starlink constellation, and in recent filings with the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX has said it wants to place a few thousand of these satellites at altitudes lower than previously planned or permitted.

This proposed change could put the Starlink satellites in the path of another constellation, called Project Kuiper, proposed by Amazon. The company has yet to launch any satellites, but has obtained an FCC license for the project.

Amazon’s current plans include putting some of its satellites into orbit about 590 km (or about 366 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The license changes recommended by SpaceX would allow the company to orbit nearly 3,000 of its satellites at altitudes between 540 and 570 km (336 to 354 miles), which Amazon says is too close for comfort. . The company argued in its objection that Starlink satellites at this altitude could cause more signal interference with Project Kuiper satellites and other nearby satellite networks.

But SpaceX has brushed aside those concerns. SpaceX director of satellite policy David Goldman said in a Jan. 22 letter to the FCC that its competitor came to these conclusions only “looking for the data” and “ignoring the majority of the change. “proposed by SpaceX.

Musk himself stacked up in a tweet on Tuesday, saying, “There is no point in the public blocking Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is several years of operation at best.”

Amazon hit back in a statement, saying, “The facts are simple. We designed the Kuiper system to avoid interference with Starlink, and now SpaceX wants to change the design of its system.”

“These changes not only create a more dangerous environment for collisions in space, but they also increase radio interference for customers,” the statement said. “Despite what SpaceX is posting on Twitter, it is the changes proposed by SpaceX that would hinder competition between satellite systems. It is clearly in SpaceX’s interest to stifle competition in the cradle if they can, but this is certainly not in the public interest. “

SpaceX has not responded to a request for comment or responded to questions from CNN for more than eight months.

For its part, SpaceX has positioned its Starlink system modification proposal as the best way to handle traffic and potential collisions in space, which the industry has widely recognized as a growing threat. Cheaper satellites and rockets have caused an unprecedented increase in the number of objects deployed in space. Much of this and the expected increase is due to companies like Amazon and SpaceX wanting to deploy thousands of satellites in orbits below 2,000 km, which is already the most congested space area.
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Placing satellites in lower orbits is generally considered a best practice because, if a satellite were to malfunction, Earth’s gravity could cause it to move out of orbit – and away from other satellites – more quickly. Satellites that die at higher altitudes can become uncontrolled projectiles that remain in orbit for years or even decades. For example, a former Russian communications satellite and a satellite owned by the US telecommunications company Iridium collided about 789 km above Earth in 2009, creating a huge field of debris still in orbit and posing a hazard. constant for nearby satellites.

However, Amazon has argued in documents filed with the FCC that the modifications proposed by SpaceX could actually put Starlink satellites at risk of colliding with Kuiper satellites. SpaceX has told the FCC that the Starlink satellites could end up in orbits up to 30 km above or below the orbit for which they are permitted to use, which means SpaceX satellites stationed at 560 or more. 570 km could end up in the trajectory of the satellites of the Kuiper project under license. at close altitudes, an Amazon spokesperson told CNN Business.

SpaceX has agreed, according to FCC documents, to limit Starlink satellites to “altitudes of 580 km or less.” More importantly, this restriction would only begin once Amazon started launching its own satellites, and it’s not at all clear whether SpaceX would abide by it before Amazon starts building its own constellation. Amazon has not said when it will start its launches, but the company’s FCC license gives it until July 2026 to build at least half of its planned constellation.

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