Musk’s SpaceX Gets Low-Level Satellite Orbits Amazon Opposed

  • FCC grants SpaceX permission to consolidate its fleet
  • Amazon says agency restrictions on SpaceX address concerns
SpaceX Sends Four Astronauts to International Space Station
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX won permission for lower orbits from the Federal Communications Commission, which rejected claims from rivals such as Amazon.com’s Kuiper Systems that the change would increase the risk for collisions in space.

The FCC, in an orderBloomberg Terminal adopted on a 4-0 vote, said lower flights would improve the speed and reduce signal lag for SpaceX’s internet-from-space service. It told SpaceX to tightly control the altitude of satellites closest to those planned by Project Kuiper.