The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) raised concerns about SpaceX’s plan to deploy about 30,000 satellites for its Starlink, as have some major companies.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX had previously received authorization to offer broadband Internet to approximately 12,000 satellites and requested authorization for a second-generation constellation of 30,000 satellites.
“NASA expects a significant increase in the frequency of conjunction events and the potential impacts of NASA’s science and human spaceflight missions,” the agency wrote to the Federal Communications Commission.
A total of 25,000 objects are currently tracked in orbit – and about 6,100 below 600 km. SpaceX’s Gen2 expansion will “more than double the number of objects tracked in orbit and more than five times the number of objects below 600 km,” it added.
Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, part of the American Astronomical Society panel investigating the effects of satellites on astronomy, said: “We are concerned about having these large numbers of satellites that interfere with astronomical observations. .. I think we need a little bit more experience with several thousand operating satellites before we can get to the tens of thousands.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk tweeted on January 15. SpaceX had 1,469 Starlink satellites active and 272 soon moved into operational orbits.
Amazon.com, which has pledged to spend at least $10 billion to build 3,236 such satellites through its Project Kuiper program, separately expressed concerns with the FCC about SpaceX’s plan, as do Dish Network did it.
Amazon said under SpaceX’s application “at least hundreds—and potentially more than ten thousand—SpaceX satellites could operate at the same altitude as the Kuiper system.”
It warned “the effect of this orbital overlap would be a dramatic increase in risks and other burdens on the Kuiper system” and asked the FCC to impose “appropriate conditions”.
Although extremely expensive to deploy, satellite technology can provide high-speed Internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve locations where fiber optic cables and cell towers are not accessible.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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