Musk hits back at Viasat's claims that Starlink could adversely impact on environment

“Starlink “poses a hazard” to Viasat’s profits, more like it. Stop the sneaky moves, Charlie Ergen!” wrote Musk in a tweet.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award, in Berlin. In a tweet Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, Musk said he once considered selling the electric car maker to Apple, but the iPhone maker’s CEO Tim Cook blew off the meeting. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File) (AP)

Elon Musk on Tuesday slammed rival communication firm Viasat after the latter asked the FCC to look into the potential environmental impact of SpaceX's Starlink internet-beaming satellites.

“Starlink “poses a hazard” to Viasat's profits, more like it. Stop the sneaky moves, Charlie Ergen!” wrote Musk in a tweet. “And Mark Dankberg. This action is wack, not dank!!”

It is worth noting that Viasat and SpaceX have locked horns over several issues in the past. According to a Dailymail report, Viasat had filed the petition in July but the company submitted a continuation on December 22. It also touches upon an FCC proceeding that is going to change rules for space debris.

The FCC had begun the proceeding two years ago with the regulator expressing concerns that maximum use of orbital resources could hurt the long-term use of the orbit.

According to another Business Insider report, satellites have a “categorical exclusion” from the US' National Environmental Policy Act. The law, however, allows “an interested person” which could be a company as well to reach the FCC for an environmental assessment.

If the FCC backs Viasat, it could be a big setback to SpaceX, which plans to launch more satellites in the future.

John Janka, Viasat's chief officer for global government affairs and regulatory, told DailyMail.com, “There has been strong concerns raised among a wide number of players in the industry this summer about the satellite's orbital debris, space safety and interference issues.”

“It is not just SpaceX, these concerns are about mega constellations in general - anyone proposing to send thousands and tens of thousands of satellites into orbit,” he added.