SpaceX Raises Orbital Debris Red Flags Over AST Constellation Plans
AST SpaceMobile is underestimating the collision risk its proposed BlueBird satellites pose when it assumes its dead satellites will remain in their optimal orientation even when the company loses control of them, SpaceX said in a filing posted Wednesday (docket…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
25-201). SpaceX added AST is "massively" undercounting the number of objects it will need to avoid in orbit, which raises the question about the company's readiness to prevent collisions. The FCC must require AST -- the same way it did for SpaceX -- to complete actual coordination with the National Science Foundation, including steps to mitigate its satellites' impact on optical astronomy, before it can conduct launches, according to SpaceX. The company also urged that AST commit to complying with the performance-based space sustainability requirements. AST is seeking approval to operate an additional 243 satellites in addition to the five already authorized (see 2506200061).