SpaceX Elona Muska has previously been licensed for around 12,000 satellites to offer broadband internet. She later asked for permission for the second generation of the project, which should include up to 30,000 satellites.
“NASA is concerned about the increasing number of situations in which objects approach orbit, as well as the potential impact on NASA’s scientific missions and space flights,” the agency said in a five-page document prepared for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). .
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NASA writes in it that there are currently a total of 25,000 man-made objects in orbit, approximately 6,100 objects at a distance of less than 600 kilometers. Extending the second-generation SpaceX satellite network would “more than double the number of monitored objects in orbit and more than fivefold the number of objects below 600 kilometers,” the agency said.
Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who examines the effects of satellites on astronomy in a panel of the American Astronomical Society, told the Guardian: “The influence of satellites on astronomy is very significant. We feared that a large number of satellites would interfere with astronomical observations. I think we need a little more experience with thousands of operating satellites before we can move to tens of thousands. “
What is it for?
According to Musek, the goal of Starlink is to bring the Internet to everyone. Although this satellite technology is very expensive, it can also provide high-speed internet to people who live in rural areas or in hard-to-reach places where optical cables and mobile signals do not reach. This could mean that we can finally connect the whole world, including poor countries in Africa, for example, with a good internet connection.
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SpaceX states that this technology could also be an important support in the event that communications are disrupted by hurricanes or other natural disasters.
Competition concerns
One of SpaceX’s biggest competitors is Amazon. She is planning a similar project, in which she wants to invest at least $ 10 billion to build 3,236 satellites under her Project Kuiper program. She has also expressed her concerns with the FCC about SpaceX’s plan. She said that at the request of SpaceX, “at least hundreds and potentially more than 10,000” SpaceX satellites could operate at the same altitudes as the Kuiper system. She warned that “this overlap in orbits would result in a dramatic increase in risks and additional burdens for the Kuiper system,” and asked the FCC to establish “reasonable terms.”
Another objection in a similar wording was sent by the American provider of direct satellite broadcasting, Dish Network. And recently, China has also opposed the network.
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