SpaceX Has The Nerve To Be Mad About A Competitor⁘s Massive Satellites Littering Earth Orbit

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Despite owning more than half of the satellites currently in low Earth orbit, SpaceX is complaining about AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird constellation and how it'll introduce added risks.

In a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX raised concerns that AST SpaceMobile poses a threat to the sustainability of low Earth orbit.

Elon Musk's space venture accused the Texas startup of underestimating collision risks in space and whether its satellites pose a threat to people on the ground during reentry. To be fair, these are valid concerns, but the accusations are laughably ironic coming from SpaceX. The company operates more than 7,800 satellites—currently around 60% of all satellites in orbit—and they've had more than a few close calls with other objects.

AST SpaceMobile is seeking to create the first space-based cellular broadband network directly accessible by cell phones, but its satellites are obnoxiously big. The company's prototype satellite unfurled its giant array in late 2022,  outshining most objects in the skies except for the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and seven of the brightest stars.

Prior to unfurling its tennis court-sized array, the satellite exhibited a brightness magnitude of around +3.5, making it visible to the naked eye. However, after deploying its antenna array, its brightness increased by about 2 magnitudes . Around two years later, AST launched five more satellites into orbit, which were just as large as the prototype, but future models could be even larger.

The company wants to launch 243 more of its satellites.