Elon Musk rejects claims his satellites are taking up too much room in space

Elon Musk rejects claims his satellites are taking up too much room in space
December 30, 2021, 8:15 am

Elon Musk/Facebook page

The BBC reported that Elon Musk has rejected claims that his Starlink satellite internet project is taking up too much room in space.

He told the Financial Times, "tens of billions" of satellites can be accommodated in orbits close to Earth.

His comments come after a claim by the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) that Mr Musk was "making the rules" for the emerging commercial space industry.

This week, China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with Starlink satellites.

Mr Musk said in the interview: "Space is just extremely enormous, and satellites are very tiny."

Mr Musk pushed back at suggestions that his Starlink Internet Services project was effectively obstructing the entry of competitors to the satellite industry, saying that there is ample room in the Earth's orbit for satellites.

He said: "This is not some situation where we're effectively blocking others in any way. We've not blocked anyone from doing anything, nor do we expect to."

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He added: "A couple of thousand satellites is nothing. It's like, hey, here's a couple of thousand of cars on Earth, it's nothing."

Mr Musk made headlines this week as he faced a social media backlash after China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with satellites launched by his Starlink project.

Source: BBC

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