More than 100 space researchers have signed a letter urging the federal government to conduct an environmental review before allowing SpaceX to continue launching thousands of satellites through its Internet mission, Starlink.
The Federal Communications Commission has granted Elon Musk's company a license 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.
While the FCC is examining potential harm to satellite constellations, it is currently exempting nearly all communications projects — including satellites — from undergoing formal environmental reviews. The researchers' paper, released on Thursday, says much has changed since the law was enacted nearly four decades ago.
“This is new technology,” said Lucas Gutterman, director of the Designed to Last Campaign at Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG), which edited the book. “There can be benefits to society and that's great, but the benefits need to be weighed against the potential harm, and the way you do that is through environmental reviews.”
Gutterman said PIRG has heard from the FCC and is excited to meet with the agency to discuss the group's concerns.
The Starlink constellation provides Internet access worldwide, especially in rural communities and countries without reliable cell service. The service provided internet access to the Ukrainian military, storm victims and commercial airline passengers.
SpaceX satellites are designed to have a five-year lifespan, after which SpaceX controllers will remove the satellites, let them burn up in Earth's atmosphere and begin replacements. This injection of metals and other compounds into the upper atmosphere from the burning of spent satellites has the potential to disrupt the delicate balance of elements and molecules in the atmosphere, the paper says.
“The industry has moved faster than regulators can act and faster than the public has ever known,” Gutterman said. “There are no results – we really don't have any data on what effect this new technology would have.”
In a 2022 report, the Government Accountability Office — a nonpartisan federal agency tasked with saving taxpayer money and increasing government efficiency — recommended an FCC review of whether satellite constellations often have a significant environmental impact. The FCC agreed with those findings.
The space researchers who signed this letter not only study the effects of satellites and rocket launches in space, but also rely on clear skies to see.
As satellites pass through the telescope's field of view, they leave streaks in astronomers' images. To compensate, scientists have had to retake the images and develop complex computer programs to remove these games.
“Imagine an open book. Then take a large marker across the page,” said David Jewitt, a UCLA distinguished professor of astronomy who signed the book. “That's what they do.”
Jewitt first heard about this book when he was talking about satellite streaks from what he saw in a Spanish telescope.
“It was obvious that the number of satellites has increased significantly since I started doing astronomy,” he said. “People want to use the place for good purposes. Communication is a good goal. … Therefore, there must be a balance between the efficient use of space and its effects on our view of the night sky.”
Environmental reviews of giant satellites could be the first step on the path to much-needed space policy reform, Gutterman said.
There is currently limited international cooperation in managing satellite constellations, and within the United States, oversight of various aspects of their life cycles – from launch to orbit to decommissioning – is handled by separate agencies.
Setting clear international standards and simplifying the process in the US would be a win-win for the scientists involved and the space industry, Gutterman said.
This is not the first time Starlink has faced backlash from the public and government officials. After the launch of the first few satellites in 2019, astronomers around the world expressed concern about the visibility of the satellites. In response, SpaceX began applying a coating to satellites to make them less shiny.
And earlier this month, the California Coastal Commission rejected SpaceX's plan to increase the number of rockets from Vandenburg Space Force Base to 50 a year, on the grounds that SpaceX was still using Starlink satellite launches instead of military missions.
SpaceX was then sued.
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