US Court Upholds SpaceX Satellite Deployment Plan

US Court Upholds SpaceX Satellite Deployment Plan
An exterior of the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
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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.