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> One wonders whether SpaceX’s recent ITU application through Tonga’s authorities for a constellation with nearly 30,000 satellites represents an attempt to cir
by metadat 2y ago
> One wonders whether SpaceX’s recent ITU application through Tonga’s authorities for a constellation with nearly 30,000 satellites represents an attempt to circumvent FCC scrutiny by launching under a flag of convenience.
That Tongan Space Program - they've claimed a lot of spot reservations but haven't launched many satellites. Their budget is miniscule, less than $10m as of the early 2000s. If I'm reading correctly, they only have a single satellite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongasat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongasat
- adolph 2y agoYes, that was an interesting coda to the story, closing with an example of the opening: The rules of the game aren’t published anywhere, but the aims seem to be quite clear — as an established geostationary satellite provider fearing that SpaceX may be eating your lunch, your goal is to throw as many spanners into the works as you can, usually cleverly disguised as technical objections, to delay and suppress. SpaceX’s goal, on the other hand, seems to be to make you spend as much money on lawyers and other experts as they can, by getting you to comment on system alternatives and options they subsequently abandon.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]