The tiny and nearly undetectable satellites are the creations of start-up company Swarm Technologies, which was established by two former Google and Apple engineers, Sara Spangelo and Benjamin Longmier. The devices were part of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket’s payload, which was launched in January on India’s east coast.

Swarm claims that their satellites, called SpaceBees, will enable worldwide two way communication for things such as transportation networks, agricultural technology and connectivity for humanitarian efforts at a much lower cost. In their application to the Federal Communications Commission (FFC) for permission to launch into space, they stated that each satellite would be just 10cm x 2.8cm tall, one quarter the size of a standard 10cm cube, or 1U, CubeSat.

The FFC, which is responsible for regulating commercial satellites and minimising the chance of accidents in space, had rejected the company’s application to launch the satellites into orbit in December 2017. The FFC based this decision on concerns over safety as space debris can pose a serious threat to orbiting satellites.

Permission Denied on the Basis of Safety Concerns

In his rejection, Anthony Serafini, Chief of the FCC’s Experimental Licensing Branch said: “In the absence of tracking at the same level as available for [1U] objects… the ability of operational spacecraft to reliably assess the need for and plan effective collision avoidance manoeuvres will be reduced or eliminated. Accordingly, we cannot conclude that a grant of this application is in the public interest.”

Aerospace Professor Marcus Holzinger told Spectrum: “As an object gets below 1U in size, it gets difficult to track, which means it’s harder to predict if there’s going to be a conjunction with another satellite. Even at that size, you’re talking about a substantial energy transfer should they hit something. Anything that size impacting at orbital velocities can be catastrophic.” This means that future spacecraft and astronauts will have to be wary of being hit by hard-to-see small satellites.

Swarm Proceeds Without Proper Authorisation

Despite the rejection Swarm defiantly went ahead with its launch plan via a broker called Spaceflight Industries. Spaceflight was unaware of the concerns raised by the FFC and its rejection of Swarm’s application. The start-up had assured the broker that the regulatory approval would arrive swiftly. In a statement, Spaceflight said: “Spaceflight has never knowingly launched a customer who has been denied an FCC license. It is the responsibility of our customers to secure all FCC licenses.”

As a result of its behaviour, the FCC has revoked Swarm’s authorisation for its next four satellite launches, which were scheduled to take place this April on a Rocket Labs mission. Peter Beck, Space Rocket Lab CEO said: “Rocket Lab will not launch spacecraft that do not have the relevant regulatory approvals or licenses.”