Elon Musk's SpaceX accused of 'hijacking' £5.5bn UK satellite contract

Viasat responded to Elon Musk's «year-old, baseless» claims. Photo: (AP Photo/Je K. Hong

Elon Musk's SpaceX has been accused of trying to 'steal' a £5.5bn takeover deal for the British satellite company after it demanded that US authorities re-investigate the deal . /p>

Billionaire Tesla's space company has asked the U.S. regulator to «quickly review and reverse» its decision to greenlight the merger between U.S. company Viasat and U.K. Inmarsat.

< p>SpaceX, which launched an extensive satellite network called Starlink, said Viasat was interfering with its satellites and violating licensing terms in a lengthy dispute between the two companies.

Viasat struck. responded by accusing Musk of creating an orbital collision risk by launching thousands of small satellites.

SpaceX had previously tried to block Inmarsat's multi-billion dollar takeover, but it was cleared by regulators.

>While the deal is now closed, Musk's company is now demanding further consideration to transfer control of Inmarsat's satellites, which are used for maritime communications and defense.

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX said that the acquisition is «against the public interest» due to Viasat's «blatant disregard» of rules. It says that the regulator «wrongly» did not consider her claims the first time.

In response, Viasat said the complaint «substantiates years of baseless» allegations. The company said the FCC had already deemed it «licensed» and that its competitor's latest attack was an attempt to «hijack» a takeover.

A Viasat spokesman said: «These are old arguments that used to tried but failed — the FCC categorically denied them permission to purchase. And they will surely fail again.

«Our goal is to integrate Inmarsat's assets and capabilities into the Viasat family to offer the innovative new services our customers need.»

Musk has previously criticized Viasat. In 2020, after Viasast warned of Starlink's potential impact on space debris, Musk tweeted that Starlink «poses a threat to Viasat's bottom line, to be exact.»

Inmarsat's takeover was approved by UK regulators and in the US and concluded in May, bringing together two of the largest satellite providers as the industry struggles to counter Starlink's rapid expansion.

California-headquartered Viasat provides satellite broadband, in-flight Wi-Fi and military communications from airplanes. revolving high above the earth. Hundreds of thousands of people use its satellites for broadband communications in remote areas.

However, the company suffered a number of setbacks this year after two of its satellites failed shortly after launch.

Analysts Industry reports estimate the cost of the two ships to be in excess of $1 billion, although if they suffer total loss, some of that amount will be covered by insurance.