SpaceX Starlink satellites target of requested environmental review
Competitor Viasat argues mega-constellation poses hazards in space and on Earth
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From the jump, astronomers raised concerns about what stargazers call “light pollution.”
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Critics also cite space debris.
“Those mega constellations could collide with other satellites in low-Earth orbit, like the International Space Station,” Dr. Ken Kremer of SpaceUpClose.com said.
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So now Viasat, another Internet provider, is requesting the Federal Communications Commission do an environmental review of Starlink arguing SpaceX is posing hazards in space and on Earth.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk responded by tweeting, “Starlink ‘poses a hazard’ to Viasat’s profits, more like it.”
While the SpaceX Starlink Internet beta is now available to select Canadians, beta testers are getting their signals from uplink stations based in the United States.
However, that appears to be changing as the very first Starlink Internet Gateway has just been spotted in Canada.
Starlink is SpaceX’s low-earth orbit satellite internet solution, constellations hovering 550 km above Earth. These satellites beam internet signals down to uplink or terminals on the ground. There are currently 955 Starlink satellites in space as of November, with more launches set to come.
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Since low-earth orbit satellites from Starlink are only 550km above Earth, compared to 35,400 km up for traditional satellite internet services, SpaceX is able to offer much faster download speeds and ping rates.