SpaceX receives the green light from the FCC for Internet satellites

SpaceX plans to launch a satellite constellation to provide broadband Internet access to a wide range of areas worldwide. In those hours, the US FCC allowed Elon Musk to partly overhaul the orbit and the number of satellites. This is a key piece. Now, when an initial planned altitude ranging from 1110 km to 1325 km was set for spaceX satellites (the ISS orbit at 400 km, for instance), at about 550 km it would be possible to orbit. This will allow to reduce, with savings in costs and operational difficulties for various launches, the number of satellites required from about 4 4400 to just below 1600. The fact that the smaller the satellites are in orbit is highly welcome, with fewer problems associated with potential spatial residues. The issue should not be underestimated and in these years it has created several problems, but with the arrival of new satellites and decommissioning of older satellites, it is becoming increasingly common. The authorization was seen by the president of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell as a sign of FCC confidence and obviously had positive words for the American institution. The signal latency will also be reduced to 15 ms when orbited at 550 km rather than at more than 1000 km. As stated above, a lower altitude will also permit fewer satellites to cover the same surface, which has many positive effects. The FCC official paper also states that OneWeb and other companies have opposed this change by referring to possible interference between their own and SpaceX satellites. However, the US institution has stated that the authorisation could still be granted in light of the public usefulness of the constellation and without significant interference problems.