The head of the European space launch company, Ariane Space, warns that SpaceX is approaching a de facto monopoly in space due to thousands of satellites, as SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to launch up to 42,000 satellites into space.
SpaceX is building the Starlink constellation that will provide reliable broadband to areas that do not have access to broadband, as each of the satellites is sent into space on a rocket owned and operated by SpaceX.
SpaceX said, we really have a responsibility to ensure that the low orbit (less than 1,000 kilometers or 625 miles) above Earth is sustainable over the long term.
The monopoly claim is based on the fact that it may become difficult for others to launch on a large scale without causing the risk of radio interference or collision of two objects. Musk recently asked the FCC for permission for a total of 2,800 satellites to orbit 340 miles above Earth, the same area where more than 1,000 satellites have been approved. Also, by the end of this decade, nearly 50,000 satellites could be in orbit around the Earth, experts predict, many of them in low Earth orbit.
SpaceX's competitors have claimed that having too many of their satellites in one orbital region increases the chance of collisions and radio interference. The warnings revealed, that such a large number of satellites in an area is dangerous, and very quickly, we could find ourselves in a catastrophic scenario that makes this orbit impractical.
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