Space Wars: Starlink vs Amazon Leo
April 7, 2026
It has been widely alleged that there’s a high degree of animosity between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Their billionaire status guarantees headlines and their rockets and satellites ensure publicity for their endeavours. But the two are also slugging it out with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
SpaceX and Amazon Leo have filed complaints against each other. On April 1st SpaceX grumbled to the FCC that in February, 32 Amazon LEO satellites were launched by Arianespace’s Ariane 64 rocket into a higher low-Earth orbit than authorized by regulators.
According to SpaceX, Amazon and Arianespace violated approved plans to reduce space debris and breached licensing conditions by deploying satellites at altitudes 50 to 90 kms above the permitted 400 kms without proper coordination or information sharing.
SpaceX’s filing focused specifically on Amazon’s February 12th, Ariane 6 launch, which it claimed inserted satellites at an altitude high enough to create what SpaceX described as unmitigable collision risks with dozens of operational spacecraft. SpaceX stated that Starlink satellites alone were forced to conduct 30 collision avoidance manoeuvres within hours of the Ariane launch to avoid the newly deployed Amazon satellites. SpaceX further alleged that the estimated collision risk from the insertion considerably exceeded the FCC’s semi-annual reporting threshold for unmitigated conjunctions.
Amazon responded on April 2, describing the complaint as “surprising,” noting that SpaceX itself had deployed Amazon LEO satellites at an altitude of 460 kms during three separate Falcon 9 missions in 2025 and “did not raise” this issue at the time.
Amazon said it had been transparent with both the FCC and SpaceX regarding its insertion altitudes and noted that it had explained its safety-focused approach to SpaceX in coordination meetings prior to launching production satellites into the disputed altitude range.
The dispute is the latest development in a long-running regulatory rivalry between the two companies. Both SpaceX and Amazon have accused each other of using FCC proceedings to delay the other’s satellite launches at various points over the years.
One of Starlink’s complaints is that by releasing its satellites at 50-90 kms higher than authorised, Amazon Leo threatened Starlink’s core orbits, and had not advised Starlink of its intentions.
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