The statement came after a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The two richest men in the world are fighting with US regulators for heavenly properties for their satellite fleets.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to operate Starlink communications satellites in a lower orbit than planned.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com Inc. says the move could cause interference and collisions with the planned Kuiper satellites, which, like Starlink, are designed to transmit Internet services from space.
A dispute that would normally be confined to regulatory processes is spreading to public opinion, in a fight that shows the great personalities involved while billionaires chase dreams in the sky.
“It is the changes proposed by SpaceX that would hinder competition between satellite systems,” Amazon tweeted on Tuesday in its official news account. “It is clearly in SpaceX’s interest to stifle competition in the cradle if possible, but it is certainly not in the public interest.”
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com Inc. says the move could cause interference and collisions with the planned Kuiper satellites, which, like Starlink, are designed to transmit Internet services from space.
The statement came after a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“It does not serve the public to harm Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is, at best, several years in operation,” said Musk in a tweeted response to CNBC journalist Michael Sheetz’s coverage.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. de Musk has launched more than 1,000 satellites for its internet service Starlink and is hiring customers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Amazon won FCC permission last year for a fleet of 3,236 satellites and has yet to launch any.
Amazon previously asked the FCC to reject SpaceX’s request for lower orbits. He said the move would place SpaceX satellites in the middle of the Kuiper System’s orbits, according to agency documents.
SpaceX withdrew calls to the FCC, saying its plans would not increase interference in what it called Amazon’s “still fledgling plans”.
A lower orbit allows for faster Internet service because the signal does not travel that far. SpaceX told the FCC that having satellites closer to Earth lessens the risk of space debris because they would exit orbit more quickly than higher spacecraft.
SpaceX plans to operate about 12,000 satellites and has obtained FCC authorization for about 4,400 birds, including 1,584 to 550 kilometers – where its satellites currently orbit. The company is seeking permission to install another 2,824 satellites at the same approximate altitude, instead of double the originally proposed height.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by the NDTV team and is published from a syndicated feed.)