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SpaceX is close to a ‘de-facto monopolisation’ of space due to its thousands of satellites, claims the head of European space launch firm Arianespace.
The Elon Musk-owned firm has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to launch up to 42,000 satellites into space.
They are building the ‘Starlink’ constellation that will deliver ‘reliable broadband’ to areas that can’t get access to fibre broadband, with each of the satellites sent into space on a SpaceX-owned and operated rocket.
‘We want space to remain accessible for human activities… but we refuse a Wild West space,’ said Stéphane Israël, CEO of the France-based Arianespace.
‘It really is our responsibility to ensure that low orbit (less than 1,000 kilometres or 625 miles) above the Earth is sustainable long-term,’ he told the UN.
They base the monopoly claim on the fact it could become difficult for others to launch at scale without creating a risk of radio interference or two objects colliding.
SpaceX is close to a ‘de-factor monopolisation’ of space due to its thousands of satellites, claims the head of European space launch firm Arianespace
‘We want space to remain accessible for human activities… but we refuse a Wild West space,’ said Stéphane Israël, CEO of the France-based Arianespace, launch provider for OneWeb
Musk’s firm recently asked the FCC for permission for a total of 2,800 satellites to orbit 340 miles above the Earth, the same region where Amazon has been approved to operate more than 1,000 satellites.
By the end of this decade nearly 50,000 satellites could be orbiting the Earth, experts predict, with many in a low Earth orbit.
SpaceX rivals have claimed that by having so many of their satellites within a single orbital region increases the chance of collisions and radio interference.
‘SpaceX has already deployed 1,677 satellites for Starlink, which means that today, of all satellites in operation, 35 percent belong to one man – Elon Musk,’ said Israël.
He said this many satellites in one region was a risk, and ‘very quickly, we could find ourselves in a catastrophic scenario that would render this orbit impractical.’
Israel said there was ‘a risk of de-facto monopolisation’ for Starlink given they were one of the first to operate a constellation network, suggesting that is what Musk is ‘banking on’ by securing the green light from the FCC for yet more satellites.
Arianespace is a joint venture between Airbus and Safran and operate in a sector set to be worth $26 billion by 2017. They have the contract to launch OneWeb satellites, operating at a higher orbit than SpaceX.
OneWeb will launch 36 satellites later today to bring the company a step closer to starting commercial service by the end of the year.
However, OneWeb plans to sell to other telecom firms, rather than directly to consumers, providing extra capacity for an operator in areas not served by fibre.
The other major player, hoping to get into the sector before SpaceX develops a monopoly is Amazon, who have signed an agreement with United Launch Alliances to send more than 1,100 satellites into low Earth orbit.
They will operate at a similar orbit to the SpaceX satellites, prompting the two firms to have to agree to the risk of radio interference.
Its Kuiper System had been designed to avoid avoid interference with Starlink, but that was put at risk when SpaceX was given permission by the FCC to operate all of its satellites in the 340 mile orbital range.
They are building the ‘Starlink’ constellation that will deliver ‘reliable broadband’ to areas that can’t get access to fibre broadband, with each of the satellites sent into space on a SpaceX-owned and operated rocket
‘Those changes not only create a more dangerous environment for collisions in space, but they also increase radio interference for customers,’ Amazon said.
Musk responded by saying that it doesn’t serve the public ‘to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years from operation.’
Israel suggested that this dominance in that orbit and dominance in the launch sector giving them a monopoly is ‘rather what our competitor is banking on.’
In a bid to counter the dominance of SpaceX in the launch sector, the European Space Agency launched an initiative to study ‘future space transport solutions’.
It involved giving $600,000 to each of ArianeGroup, Avio and Rocket Factory Augsburg to find more competitive launch systems.
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