In December, small-satellite company Swarm Technologies Inc. received word from the Federal Communications Commission that its request to launch and operate four tiny satellites was denied, reports The Los Angeles Times. The reasoning behind the denial was that the satellites, which measured less than 4 inches on one side, were too small to be tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, which is supposed to catalog all man-made objects that orbit the Earth. Basically, they want to make sure that the satellites wouldn’t hit anything else in orbit. However, according to the FCC, the Menlo Park, California firm apparently didn’t listen, and went ahead and launched the satellites anyway. According to the LA Times, industry analysts think this may be the first time a company in the U.S. has operated a satellite despite not receiving approval from the FCC. An FCC spokesperson said they were aware of the situation and said they have shelved the company’s application for permission to conduct another operation related to the tiny satellites while they look into the matter. This could be a sign of conflict between government regulatory efforts in space and the growing power of new small-satellite endeavors, industry analysts told the LA Times.
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