FCC approves SpaceX Satellite Deployment Plan, Despite Rivals’ Complaints

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), which was recently reported to be close to winning permission for lower orbits from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has been granted permission on Tuesday. FCC, in the process of granting permission, rejected claims from rivals such as Amazon.com’s Kuiper Systems that the change would increase the risk for collisions in space.

The FCC, in an order adopted on a 4-0 vote, explained that lower flights would reduce signal lag and improve the speed for SpaceX’s internet-from-space service. It told SpaceX to tightly control the altitude of satellites in close proximity to those planned by Project Kuiper.

“Our action will allow SpaceX to implement safety-focused changes to the deployment of its satellite constellation to deliver broadband service throughout the United States, including to those who live in areas underserved or unserved by terrestrial systems,” the FCC said in the order, released Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

In part because atmospheric drag slows satellites at lower altitudes, leaving them to plunge out of orbit, the new trajectory “should result in lower collision risk”, the FCC said. Its order lets SpaceX reduce planned altitudes for some satellites by roughly half.

Rivals of SpaceX, which are also planning fleets include Viasat Inc., Telesat Canada, OneWeb, and Amazon, creating friction around the permission reflects the intense race underway as companies compete to offer broadband service from near space. 

In addition to 1,584 spacecraft’s permission, SpaceX asked to fly 2,824 more Starlink satellites in the lower orbit. The requested change would leave all the satellites at an altitude of roughly 540 to 570 kilometers (335 to 354 miles), which is the zone that lies just below what is assigned to Project Kuiper.

Amazon in a statement called the FCC decision “a positive outcome that places clear conditions on SpaceX.” Those include the mandate to remain below the Kuiper spacecraft, and another to accept radio interference from Kuiper to which SpaceX is vulnerable due to operating at a lower altitude.

“These conditions address our primary concerns,” Amazon said.

The satellites are to operate in low-Earth orbits, a range that, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, now plays host to 2,612 operating satellites.

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