Starlink rival Amazon Leo is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to shoot down SpaceX’s 1 million-satellite proposal for orbiting data centers, going as far to claim the project would take “centuries” to deploy.
“In short, the Application seems to describe a lofty ambition rather than a real plan—and a speculative placeholder rather than a complete application under the Commission’s rules,” Amazon Leo said.
On Friday, the Amazon business sent a 17-page filing to the FCC, urging a denial, when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to use the “up to” 1 million satellites to create a massive network of orbiting data centers around the planet.
The constellation promises to harness the abundant power from the Sun while processing AI workloads in space, offering an alternative to building energy-guzzling data centers on Earth’s surface. However, Amazon argues the proposal only offers “the barest outline of how SpaceX will deliver on these grand claims,” omitting details about the satellite design or the radio frequency use
(Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Amazon even questions why the FCC is processing SpaceX’s proposal, claiming “the Commission has long refused to process speculative, conceptual, or otherwise incomplete filings.” “Timing is likewise uncertain: deploying the proposed million-satellite constellation would take centuries, even assuming the availability of all global launch capacity to do so,” the company added.
Amazon also argues that granting SpaceX’s application would “worsen matters further, forcing every other operator in low-Earth orbit to plan around a constellation that may never exist,” and spark a scramble to warehouse orbital resources. “At best, the Application appears to be an exercise in publicity and messaging—and at worst, an attempt to stake a priority claim over a vast swath of orbital resources with no genuine intent to deploy,” the filing adds.
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SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But company CEO Elon Musk is betting he can pull off the orbital data center concept by using Starship, the company’s next-generation reusable rocket. Although the heavy-lift spacecraft remains in the testing phases, Musk has long been hying up the prospect of rapid Starship launches to send humans to Mars, deploy next-generation Starlink satellites, and now to establish a space-based data center.
Still, Musk and SpaceX’s application hasn’t mentioned a specific timeline for the project. But there have been signs the company is planning for the long-term. Musk recently told employees he envisions one day building a factory on the Moon to produce AI satellites and then using a “mass driver” to catapult them into space.
However, Amazon Leo told FCC it doesn’t view the current proposal as realistic. “In 2025 —a record-breaking year for global spaceflight— 4,526 satellites were launched into orbit worldwide. At that pace, deploying one million satellites would take more than 220 years,” the company said in the filing.
“The replenishment math is equally sobering: assuming a five-year satellite lifespan, sustaining a million-satellite constellation would require replacing 200,000 satellites per year—more than 44 times the entire global satellite launch output in 2025,” the document added.
The filing also bring up concerns other experts have raised about SpaceX’s orbital data center plans, including space safety and cluttering Earth’s orbit with satellites. Amazon issued the protest on Friday, the FCC’s deadline to submit public comments on SpaceX’s proposal as the regulator considers whether to approve the request. So far, the Commission has received over 1,200 comments, a staggering amount far beyond the typical satellite application. This comes after a prominent anti-light pollution group and astronomers have been urging the public to weigh in.
“Do not rubber stamp a Simpsons plot,” wrote one concerned filer, referencing the animated TV show. On Friday, both the American Astronomical Society and rival satellite company Viasat also told the FCC to deny SpaceX’s proposal.
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
