In front of federal officials, the two wealthiest men in the world are sparring about the vast satellite internet ventures their businesses are creating.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took the issue to Twitter on Tuesday. His business seeks to convince Federal Communications Commission officials that SpaceX should shift some of its Starlink satellites to lower altitudes than initially intended.
The Amazon of Jeff Bezos was among businesses who disputed SpaceX's request because the alteration might conflict with other satellites.
SpaceX vs. Amazon: Feud taken to Twitter on Internet Satellite
In a fight that showcases the broad celebrities involved as billionaires pursue visions in the stars, a fight that would usually be limited to regulatory documents is bursting into public view.
"It is SpaceX's proposed changes that would hamstring competition among satellite systems," Amazon tweeted Tuesday from its official news account. "It is clearly in SpaceX's interest to smother competition in the cradle if they can, but it is certainly not in the public's interest."
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has pushed through and took a head on to Twitter. He replied implicitly to a tweet highlighting CNBC journalist Michael Sheetz's coverage. Musk then responded by rejecting the declaration that shows that the change is harmful to the public. In addition, he emphasized that Kuiper himself is really prepared for the press.
It does not serve the public to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 26, 2021
Starlink is the plan of SpaceX to establish an integrated communication network of nearly 12,000 satellites to provide a high-speed network worldwide. SpaceX started a public beta system in October of over 1,000 satellites thus far in orbit. In addition to the $499 upfront expense of Starlink, containing a consumer terminal and a Wi-Fi router to attach to the satellites, the initial plan is set at $99/month.
In the meantime, Amazon has been focusing on Project Kuiper, its own internet satellite. It plans to send 3,236 internet satellites, a device that will contend with Starlink, into low Earth orbit. Although Amazon passed a crucial early infrastructure milestone in December for the antennas it requires to link to the network, its satellites' development or launch has yet to begin.
The FCC accepted Amazon's plan for Kuiper in July, which the firm claims would spend more than $10 billion in building.
The Lower Orbit, The Faster Internet Connection
SpaceX has positioned the suggested reform to the Starlink scheme as one that is best for handling traffic and possible space accidents, which the industry has generally identified as a growing danger. Cheaper satellites and rockets also spurred an extraordinary increase in the amount of artifacts being deployed into orbit. Companies like Amazon and SpaceX, which plan to launch dozens of channels into orbits below 2,000 km, which is now the most crowded region of space, have guided most of the growth and expected increase.
In general, placing spacecraft into lower orbits is deemed a better idea because if a satellite crashed, the weight of the Earth might pull it faster out of orbit and away from other vessels. Uncontrolled missiles that remain in space for years or even decades will become satellites that fail at high elevations. For starters, in 2009, an obsolete Russian communications satellite and a spacecraft belonging to the US-based telecommunications corporation iridium collided around 789 km above Earth, producing a large debris field that is still in orbit and posing a constant danger to surrounding satellites.
However, in documents filed with the FCC, Amazon claimed that the planned improvements introduced by SpaceX might potentially place Starlink satellites at risk of collision with Kuiper satellites. An Amazon spokesman told CNN that SpaceX's Starlink satellites might wound up in orbits up to 30 km above or below the orbit. That suggests that SpaceX satellites deployed at 560 or 570 km could end up in the direction of Project Kuiper satellites licensed at neighboring altitudes.
According to FCC records, SpaceX decided to limit Starlink antennas to "elevations of 580 km or below." Crucially, the constraint would only start until Amazon started launching its satellites. However, it is not certain whether SpaceX will comply with that before Amazon starts constructing its network. Amazon has not said when releases would begin, but the company's FCC license issued through July.
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