Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has an estimated net worth of $ 209 billion. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has an estimated net worth of $ 192 billion. (By comparison, even the lower figure was higher than the annual gross domestic product of more than half of the countries in the world by 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund.)
In the midst of 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 has already given permission from the US Federal Government to launch thousands of satellites to enlarge the Starlink constellation, and SpaceX recently said it wants to place several thousand of the satellites at a lower altitude than previously planned or authorized.
The proposed change could put Starlink satellites in the path of another constellation, called Project Kuiper, proposed by Amazon. The company has not yet launched any satellites, but has obtained an FCC license for the project.
Amazon’s current plans include some of the satellites orbiting about 590 km (or about 366 miles) above the earth’s surface. The changes to its license that SpaceX is striving for will allow the company to orbit nearly 3,000 of its satellites at altitudes between 540 and 570 km (336 to 354 miles), which according to Amazon is too close for convenience. The company argued in its objection that Starlink satellites at that height could cause more signal interference with Project Kuiper satellites and other nearby satellite networks.
Musk himself piled up a tweet on Tuesday, saying: “It does not serve the public to hinder Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that has been out of order for at most a few years.”
Amazon backfired in a statement, saying, “The facts are simple. We designed the Kuiper system to prevent 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 also increase radio interference for customers,” the statement said. “Despite what SpaceX posts on Twitter, it’s SpaceX’s proposed changes that will hamper competition among satellite systems. It’s clearly in SpaceX’s interest to stifle competition in the cradle if it can, but it’s certainly not in the public’s. interest. “
SpaceX has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment in more than eight months.
Placing satellites in lower orbits is generally considered a best practice, because if a satellite were to function, Earth’s gravity could drag it out of its orbit faster – and away from other satellites. Satellites that die at higher altitudes can become uncontrolled projectiles that stay in orbit for years or even decades. For example, a dilapidated Russian communications satellite and a satellite belonging to the US telecommunications company iridium collided about 789 km above the earth in 2009, creating a huge rubble field that is still in orbit and a constant risk to nearby satellites.
According to FCC documents, SpaceX does agree that it would limit Starlink satellites to “altitudes of 580 km or less.” But most importantly, the restriction would only start once Amazon started launching its own satellites, and it’s not at all clear whether SpaceX would stick to that before Amazon started building its own constellation. Amazon did not say when it will launch, but the company’s FCC license gives it until July 2026 to build at least half of its planned constellation.