WASHINGTON —A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld the decision of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve a SpaceX plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower Earth orbit than planned as part of its push to offer space-based broadband internet.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX won FCC approval in 2021 to fly 2,824 satellites at a lower orbit to provide high-speed broadband internet services to people who currently lack access. Competitors Viasat Inc and DISH Network Corp challenged the FCC approval.
Viasat said on Friday it believes the “decision is a setback for both space safety and environmental protection.”
The company added if the court had forced the FCC to address “complicated issues surrounding deployment of mega-constellations in (low-earth orbit), we believe harmful impacts that otherwise may persist for decades or even centuries to come could have been avoided.”…