SpaceX filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over Amazon's deployment of its Amazon Leo constellation.

Elon Musk's SpaceX wrote to the FCC earlier this week, highlighting its frustration over Amazon's request for a two-year extension for the deployment of its LEO (low-Earth orbit) fleet.

Amazon had initially said it would operate at least 50% of its planned 3,236-strong LEO fleet by July 2026. But in January, Amazon Leo sought a 24-month extension to its satellite rollout due to launch shortages.

The company had agreed to deploy 1,600 satellites by the original deadline, but that figure is estimated to be around 241 at present. That number is more than 1,300 short of the proposed 50% target, as SpaceX points out in its complaint to the regulator. The company previously accused Amazon of "gamesmanship" over the extension.

"Amazon simply refuses to take ‘yes’ for an answer," SpaceX noted in its filing. "Amazon consistently rejects any offer to resolve its self-inflicted inability to meet the FCC’s deployment requirements, insisting instead on inflicting maximum harm on the millions of Americans that rely on competing systems."

SpaceX said the FCC should deny the extension request, once again accusing Amazon of "gamesmanship" in its complaint. The company adds that the reason for Amazon failing to meet its targets is down to "entirely foreseeable factors and business misjudgments."

In its filing for an extension, Amazon stated that launch demand so far exceeds the existing capacity available.

"Amazon Leo’s systematic investment across launch providers has substantially advanced the market for launch service providers, even when providers in which Amazon Leo invested were not able to deliver services on the schedule required by milestones," Amazon noted in its request to the FCC for an extension. "These investments have both funded critical infrastructure buildouts and increased the commercial viability of other launch service providers."

Amazon said a major cause of the bottleneck had been the "limited number of rockets capable of launches."

The timing of SpaceX's response comes a week after Amazon confirmed it will acquire satellite operator Globalstar in a deal worth $11.57 billion. That deal is set to support Amazon's ambitions to build out its Amazon Leo satellite network.