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A Silicon Valley start-up has been accused of sending four tiny satellites into orbit without permission. If it did so, this would be the first ever unauthorised satellite launch, and it could put other larger satellites in danger.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates commercial satellites from US companies, made the accusation in an email exchange with Sara Spangelo, CEO of Swarm Technologies, which was put online by IEEE Spectrum. The FCC had denied Swarm’s application for their “SpaceBee” satellites in December 2017.

A manifest released by the Indian Space Research Organisation indicated that the tiny satellites were aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle that launched from Sriharikota, India, on 12 January. The SpaceBees are communications satellites intended to provide connectivity for internet-enabled devices and sensors.

Swarm Technologies has not yet replied to New Ů��С��Ƶ’s request for comment.

In the December , the FCC cited the diminutive size of the SpaceBees as troublesome. At only 10 centimetres square and 2.8 centimetres tall, they are too small to reliably track, making it difficult to be certain they won’t crash into other satellites.

The letter cites difficulty to “plan effective collision avoidance maneuvers” as one reason for denying approval for the launch. “Accordingly, we cannot conclude that a grant of this application is in the public interest,” the letter says.

According to , neither the Indian Space Research Organization nor Spaceflight, the firm that supplied the satellites, could confirm that they check FCC licences for all customers.

Swarm’s next launch, planned for April, is now in jeopardy. The FCC had previously granted a licence, but has now “in order to permit assessment of the impact of the applicant’s apparent unauthorized launch and operation of four satellites”.

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