Astronomers Call on Federal Communications Commission to Stop Launching Megaconstellations of Satellites

More than 100 astronomers from leading US universities have signed an open letter calling for an assessment of the potential impacts of satellite megaconstellations on Earth’s environment.

Researchers are calling on the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which approves satellite deployment in the US, to stop megaconstellation launches and conduct a thorough assessment of them possible impact on the environment until further licenses are issued.

US government agencies are required to comply with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which requires them to consider the environmental impact of their decisions. However, the categorical exclusion of 1986 means that satellites are exempt from this requirement.

Researchers from leading US universities, including Harvard, Princeton and the University of California, Berkeley, are now calling for an end to this blanket exclusion.

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From just a few hundred satellites orbiting the Earth in 1986, today the number has grown to almost 10,000, with a further tenfold increase expected in the next decade. This trend is driven mainly by the emergence of new satellite megaconstellations such as SpaceX. Starlinkwhich promise to bridge the digital divide and provide people with little or no access to decent quality internet.

Megaconstellation operators plan to regularly update their fleets with new and more capable technologies. To prevent accumulation space debristhey send an outdated spaceship to Earth’s atmosphere burn out at the end of your mission. The potential harmful effects of burning a satellite worry researchers. In addition, the number of satellites in orbit is growing. interferes with astronomical observationscreating unwanted streaks in telescope images.

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“Artificial satellites, even invisible to the naked eye, can interfere with astronomical observations that help detect asteroids and understand your place in Universe“, Robert MacMillan, He is a research professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Arizona and one of the letter’s authors, according to an emailed statement. “The potential long-term environmental harm from deploying tens of thousands of satellites is still unclear.”

Famous astrophysicist at Harvard University and extraterrestrial life researcher Avi Loeb is among those who signed the letter. So is Jonathan McDowell, a leading space debris expert, satellite tracking specialist and Harvard Smithsonian astronomer; David Jewett, discoverer Kuiper Belt facility and distinguished professor of astronomy at UCLA; and space ecologist Moriba Jah.

The American nonprofit Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) conceived the letter following the publication of its report. report detailing potential hazards mass burning of satellites in August.

PIRG estimates that when the megaconstellation’s deployment reaches its peak, about 29 tons of metal waste will evaporate into Earth’s atmosphere every day, the equivalent of “a car falling from space” every hour.

Satellites are primarily made of aluminum, which when burned produces aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide, or alumina, contributes to the destruction of ozone and can change the atmosphere’s ability to absorb heat, thereby affecting Earth’s climate. When a satellite enters its atmosphere, it also produces nitrogen oxides, which are also known to harm ozone.

Illustration of a burning satellite as it enters the atmosphere. (Image credit: ESA)

“The long-term consequences of these large-scale changes to our environment are unclear,” the scientists say. said in the letter. “We can bring the world online without the unknown environmental damage from satellite megaconstellations. The FCC should coordinate closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and other national and international regulators to require extensive environmental studies for the new space age. We’re in business. a short period of time when we can prevent chaos in space and our atmosphere, rather than spending decades cleaning them up.”

PIRG Campaign Director Lucas Gatterman, the lead proponent of the initiative, told Space.com in an email that the group has asked FCC space bureau chief Julie Kearney to request a meeting to discuss the concerns expressed in the letter.

“We continue to work with experts to bring their concerns to the FCC and D.C. lawmakers,” Gutterman wrote. “The space industry has evolved faster than the public or regulators could keep up with, and we will continue to raise the profile of this issue among the public. Speed and scale of new space race should be a kitchen table issue, not an esoteric debate among a small group of industry insiders.”

Astronomers Call on Federal Communications Commission to Stop Launching Megaconstellations of Satellites

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