NASA has raised concerns about SpaceX’s plan to deploy about 30,000 satellites for its Starlink, as have some major companies.
Elon Musk’s rocket-building firm previously received authorisation for about 12,000 satellites to offer broadband internet.
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The California firm has requested the go-ahead for a second-generation constellation of 30,000 satellites.
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Nasa raised fears that Starlink could present a risk to its spacecraft.
“Nasa has concerns with the potential for a significant increase in the frequency of conjunction events and possible impacts to Nasa’s science and human spaceflight missions,” the agency wrote on Wednesday.
Nasa noted there are currently 25,000 total objects tracked on-orbit – and about 6,100 below 600 km.
SpaceX’s Gen2 expansion “would more than double the number of tracked objects in orbit and increase the number of objects below 600 km over five-fold,” it added.
Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell outlined the effect that Starlink satellites have on scientists’ observations.
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“We’ve been concerned with having these large numbers of satellites that interfere with astronomical observations,” McDowell, part of the American Astronomical Society panel examining the impacts of satellites on astronomy, said.
“I think we need a little more experience with the several thousand operating satellites before we can ramp up to the tens of thousands.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk tweeted on January 15 SpaceX had 1,469 Starlink satellites active and 272 moving to operational orbits soon.
Amazon, which has pledged to spend at least $10billion to build 3,236 internet-beaming satellites through its Project Kuiper program, separately raised concerns with the FCC about SpaceX’s plan.
Amazon said under SpaceXs application “at least hundreds and potentially more than ten thousand SpaceX satellites could operate at the same altitudes as the Kuiper System.”
It warned “the effect of this orbital overlap would be a dramatic increase in risks and other burdens on the Kuiper System” and asked the FCC to impose “reasonable conditions.”
While extremely costly to deploy, satellite technology can provide high-speed internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach.
The technology could also be a critical backstop when hurricanes or other natural disasters disrupt communication.
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In other news, a four-tonne chunk of a SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the Moon, according to online space junk trackers.
Boeing has sunk $450million into a flying taxi startup that hopes to whisk passengers across cities by the end of the decade.
Personalised smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to U.S. consumers this year.
And, scientists are embarking on a mission to unravel the mystery behind dozens of grisly child mummies buried in an underground tomb in Sicily.
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