The statement was followed by a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data collected by Bloomberg.
The two richest men in the world are arguing with American regulators about celestial real estate for their satellite fleets.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has applied for permission from the Federal Communications Commission to operate Starlink communications satellites in a lower orbit than originally planned.
Amazon.com Inc., of Jeff Bezos, says the measure would risk interference and collisions with its planned Kuiper satellites, which like Starlink are designed to transmit Internet services from space.
A dispute that is usually limited to regulatory filings is spreading in public view, in a spike that shows the great personalities involved as billionaires chase dreams in the sky.
“It is the changes proposed by SpaceX that would make competition between satellite systems difficult,” he sent to Twitter on Tuesday from his official news account. “Clearly it’s in SpaceX’s interest to stifle competition in the cradle if they can, but it certainly doesn’t interest the public.”
Amazon.com Inc., of Jeff Bezos, says the measure would risk interference and collisions with its planned Kuiper satellites, which like Starlink are designed to transmit Internet services from space.
The statement was followed by a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data collected by Bloomberg.
“Today it doesn’t serve the public to paralyze Starlink for an Amazon satellite system that, at most, is several years away from operating,” Musk said in a tweeted response to CNBC journalist Michael’s coverage Sheetz.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. de Musk has launched more than 1,000 satellites for its Starlink Internet service and is enrolling its first customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Amazon last year obtained permission from the FCC for a fleet of 3,236 satellites and has yet to launch any.
Amazon previously urged the FCC to reject the request for SpaceX from lower orbits. He said the change would put SpaceX satellites in the middle of the orbits of the Kuiper system, according to reports submitted to the agency.
SpaceX backtracked on calls to the FCC, saying its plans would not increase interference from what it called Amazon’s “still-fledged plans.”
A lower orbit allows for faster Internet service because the signal does not travel that far. SpaceX told the FCC that having satellites closer to Earth reduces the risk of spacecraft because they would fall out of orbit faster than higher spacecraft.
SpaceX is finally planning to operate about 12,000 satellites and has obtained FCC approval for some 4,400 birds, including 1,584 to 550 kilometers, where their satellites currently orbit. The company is requesting permission to stage 2,824 satellites at approximately the same altitude, instead of twice the altitude of what was originally proposed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)