Texas satellite company defends itself against NASA criticisms

Enlarge / NASA is concerned about protecting its "A-Train" of satellites, some of which are depicted here, and monitor Earth's climate. (credit: NASA)

The founder of a Texas-based company that wants to put more than 200 very large satellites into low-Earth orbit has pushed back on concerns from NASA that these spacecraft pose an orbital debris threat.

We're not a bunch of cowboys launching satellites," said Abel Avellan, founder of AST & Science, in an interview. "This is a serious, well-funded project."

The company, which has 160 employees and has moved into XCOR's old facility at Midland's airport, has asked the Federal Communications Commission for access to the US market to sell Internet connectivity to mobile phones from space. NASA took the rare step of objecting to the AST mega-constellation proposal to put as many as 243 satellites in an orbit at 720km, commenting last Friday that it could lead to a "catastrophic collision" with its A-Train satellites in a nearby orbit.

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