Space race: The battle of billionaires KUIPER VS STARLINK
The companies of the world’s two richest men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, are battling before US regulators for celestial real estate for their satellite fleets
The two billionaires’ rival companies are launching constellations of satellites for broadband connectivity. The larger debate is about the orbit range
BEZOS’S KUIPER SYSTEMS 590-630km
FCC APPROVED CONSTELLATION HEIGHT FOR KUIPER
Jeff Bezos’s Kuiper plans to launch a network in lower orbit in coming years, and has won approval from the Federal Communications Commission to do so Amazon has urged the FCC to reject all requests (including Spacex’s) for satellites in the orbit range for which it has approval
3,236 PLANNED FLEET SIZE THE TRIGGER FOR THE ORBITAL DISPUTE
The two companies are now fighting because Spacex filed a new request with the FCC, seeking to put its satellites at 540-570km
Bezos’s company says that this will now cause interference in radio waves and increase the likelihood of collisions, while Musk alleges that Starlink shouldn't be stifled for a satellite system that remains
"several years" away
1,100km-1,325km ORIGINALLY APPROVED ORBIT RANGE FOR STARLINK
Elon Musk’s Spacex has already launched more than 1,000 small satellites for its Starlink network and is signing up early customers in the US, UK & Canada Spacex wants to put its first-generation satellites in orbits ranging from 540-570km rather than the originally approved range
12,000 WHY ORBIT RANGE IS CRUCIAL FOR BOTH
A lower orbit allows quicker internet because the signal doesn’t travel as far Spacex told the FCC that having the satellites closer to Earth also lessens the risk of space debris because they would fall out of orbit more quickly than higher spacecraft
For Kuiper, this could have a major impact because the company has been developing its satellites based on the orbit approval it received
“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.” — AMAZON STATEMENT