Researchers urge caution regarding satellite megaconstellations

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Researchers urge caution regarding satellite megaconstellations

More than 100 space researchers signed a letter urging the federal government to conduct an environmental review before allowing SpaceX to continue launching thousands of satellites for its internet service, Starlink.

The Federal Communications Commission has authorized Elon Musk’s company to launch nearly 12,000 satellites into space, more than double the number of non-SpaceX satellites orbiting Earth. SpaceX is asking the FCC to allow it to launch more than 20,000 more.

As the FCC assesses potential harm from satellite constellations, it currently exempt Almost all telecommunications projects – including satellites – must undergo formal environmental reviews. The researchers’ letter, released Thursday, says much has changed since the rule was created nearly four decades ago.

“This is new technology,” said Lucas Gutterman, director of the Built to Last campaign at Public interest research groups (PIRG), who organized the letter. “It could have benefits to the public and that’s great, but the benefits have to be weighed against the potential harms, and doing that requires an environmental review.”

Gutterman said PIRG received a response from the FCC and was pleased to meet with the agency to discuss the group’s concerns.

The Starlink constellation provides Internet coverage worldwide, especially in rural communities and countries without reliable cell phone service. The service provided Internet access to Ukrainian soldiers, hurricane victims and commercial flight passengers.

SpaceX’s satellites are designed to have a lifespan of about five years, after which SpaceX ground controllers will deorbit the satellites, let them burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, and launch replacements. This injection of metals and other compounds into the upper atmosphere from the incineration of spent satellites has the potential to disrupt the delicate balance of elements and molecules in the air, the letter states.

“The industry has evolved faster than regulators can act and faster than the public actually thought,” Gutterman said. “The results are not available – we simply don’t have data on the effects this new technology might have.”

In a 2022 ReportThe Government Accountability Office – a nonpartisan federal agency charged with saving taxpayer dollars and increasing government efficiency – recommended that the FCC examine whether satellite constellations normally have significant environmental impacts . The FCC concurred with the findings.

The space researchers who signed the letter not only study the effects of satellite and rocket launches on the atmosphere, but also rely on clear skies for their observations.

When satellites pass in front of telescopes’ fields of view, they leave traces on astronomers’ images. To compensate, scientists had to frequently retake the images and develop more sophisticated computer programs to remove the streaks.

“Imagine an open book. Then imagine a big trail of marker on the page,” said David Jewitta distinguished professor of astronomy at UCLA who signed the letter. “That’s what they do.”

Jewitt first heard about the letter while he was dealing with satellite tracks on his observations from a telescope in Spain.

“It was so obvious that the number of satellite tracks has only increased since I started doing astronomy,” he said. “People want to use space for good purposes. Communication is a good goal. … There must therefore be some moderation between the efficient use of space and its effects on our vision of the night sky.”

Environmental assessment of satellite megaconstellations would be a first step on the path to much-needed space policy reform, Gutterman said.

Currently, international cooperation in regulating satellite constellations is limited, and in the United States, oversight of various aspects of their life cycle – from launch to orbit to decommissioning – is carried out by separate agencies.

Establishing clear international standards and streamlining the process in the United States would be a win-win for the scientists involved and the space industry, Gutterman said.

This is not the first time Starlink has faced pushback from the public and government officials. After the launch of the first batches of satellites in 2019, astronomers around the world raised concerns on the reflectivity of satellites. In response, SpaceX began to apply a coating to satellites to make them less bright.

And earlier this month, the California Coastal Commission rejected a SpaceX plan to increase the number of rocket launches from Vandenburg Space Station to 50 per year, on the grounds that SpaceX was increasingly using launches for its Starlink satellites rather than military missions.

EspaceX subsequently sued.

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