Some positive news re Starlink

[Granada]

Astronomers and SpaceX coming together to make Starlink megaconstellation less disruptive to science: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-astronomers-visibility-response.html

[Rob_K]

Who have they got 'permission' from? Seriously, who? Who does space belong to? (hehe, to whom does space belong?)

Cheers -

[LewisM]

Might need to get permission from T-Rump's "Space Farce".


yeah...

[gary]

Hi Rob,

The Outer Space Treaty basically says space doesn't belong to anyone
and that no one nation may claim ownership of outer space or any
celestial body.

However, the allocation of radio frequency spectrum for satellites is
governed and managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

For geostationary orbits, the radio frequencies and physical slots are
limited natural resources and the ITU manages these by an appilcation
process. A few years ago there was the hoo-ha when an Indonesian
operator had already been allocated the slots that were optimal for the
Australian NBN satellites.

For low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the formal mechanism is that one seeks
approval for spectrum allocation from the ITU. This is often done through
some intermediary body who files the application on behalf of the operator.
For example, in the US the FCC or in Australia, ACMA.

The ITU met late last year at the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El Sheikh
in the South Sinai and thrashed out some new rules governing the mega
constellations. In a nutshell, operators were given limited timeframes in
years from the time they launched their first satellite to the time they were
required to get the entire constellation up, or they would lose their rights
to the spectrum.

As for launching an object into space itself, permission to to do that is
typically regulated by the government of the country of launch.

In Australia you require a Launch Facility License :-
https://ablis.business.gov.au/service/ag/launch-facility-licence/11
and a Launch Permit :-
https://ablis.business.gov.au/service/ag/launch-permit/12

[multiweb]

Hope it works so others can follow up in the same path and we avoid a criss cross lightshow up there.

[glend]

In the end spectrum domination, and hence sat launches, are pretty much sewed up by the wealthy nations (or individuals in Musk's case), so the US FCC is signing off on the Starlink system. Starlink already has US Army as a customer, and it will be a cash cow to help fund the Mars program, because right now it is still privately held. At some point Musk might offer shares to investors and use the cash to pay for his Mars venture.
I am far from convinced any ITU, Outer Space Treaty, or other body can control what is going on up there. If you have the money to get there first, you can create whatever you want. Musk has recently stated that Starships sent to the Moon will be left there as Moon base components, thus they don't need to carry heat shields for Earth re-entry. His cheap one way transports will clutter up the Moon. Exploitation is the priority. I would bet he establishes a Starlink ring around the Moon, and Mars eventually, to dominate the comms carrier traffic.

[AndyG]

Sounds rather "Weyland-Yutani"...

[glend]

In Elon's case, perhaps more like Jules Pierre Mao....the owner of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile as well as subsidiary Protogen. (See "The Expanse").