Competitor fears Musk's SpaceX could 'monopolize' space
29 May, 2021
The launching of a large number of satellites into low Earth orbit by tech billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX threatens the "de-facto monopolization" of space, the top of competitor Arianespace Stephane Israel has warned.
Elon Musk's Starlink constellation task recently received authorization from U.S. regulator the Government Communications Commission to supply broadband from space and place a large number of satellites less than previously proposed, angering competitors including Amazon.
SpaceX, which asked the FCC for permission that will apply to some 2,800 satellites, plans eventually to blanket poorly connected and isolated regions of the globe with internet connectivity.
But rivals say the low altitude could increase risk of space collisions and heightened radio interference.
"We prefer space to stay accessible for human activities... but we refuse a Crazy West space. It truly is our responsibility to make certain that low orbit (significantly less than 1,000 kilometers above the planet earth is sustainable long-term," Israel told a U.N.-sponsored conference on Geneva in sustainable space development goals.
Israel noted that greater than 9,000 satellites sent into orbit since 1957, "SpaceX has recently deployed 1,677 satellites for Starlink, which implies that today, of all satellites in operation, 35 percent belong to one man -- Elon Musk.
"And in the event that you include satellites of more than 50 kilograms, that's a lot more than 50 percent."
He added that recent years had seen several collisions, at least two of these involving Starlink satellites, and warned that "rapidly, we could find ourselves in a good catastrophic scenario that would render this orbit impractical."
Israel said there is also "a threat of de-facto monopolization" for Starlink among the first firms to set up such a good satellite network.
He suggested that was "alternatively what our competitor is banking in" by securing the FCC's green light.
The FCC judged in April that deployment at a lesser altitude compared to the 540 to 570 kilometers in the beginning proposed "will improve the experience for users of the SpaceX service, including in often-underserved polar regions".
It would also permit the satellites to be more speedily removed from orbit which could have "beneficial effects" in terms of reducing space debris, the authority found.
In every, SpaceX has requested FCC authorization for 42,000 satellites.
That has put pressure on Arianespace, a jv between Airbus and French multinational Safran, to crank up its competitiveness for launches -- a worldwide market whose value Fortune Business Insights estimated at nearly $13 billion in 2019, growing to $26 billion by 2027.
French U.N. ambassador in Geneva and meeting organizer Francois Rivasseau stressed that space possessed a "vital" role to aid sustainable development.
But he as well warned that potential risks could suddenly go from fringe problems to global concerns -- pointing to the coronavirus pandemic as a good precedent.
Source: japantoday.com