Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

SpaceX Starlink Satellites over Carson National Forest, New Mexico, photographed soon after launch.
Credit: Mike Lewinsky/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

A new entry in the mega-constellation controversy has entered the Earth-circling satellite ring fray.

“The new space race doesn’t need to create massive space waste,” suggests Lucas Gutterman of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG) Education Fund.

The central message is that more foresight and regulation is needed before our Earth’s orbit is crowded with thousands of satellites.

“That’s why we’re calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to pause new satellite internet low earth orbit satellite launches until it conducts environmental reviews for satellite mega-constellations. The FCC also needs to end the environmental categorical exclusion of satellites,” the PIRG group has announced.

Gutterman is director of the PIRG’S Designed to Last Campaign, U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

That PIRG arm is “fighting against obsolescence and e-waste and winning concrete policy changes that extend electronic consumer product lifespans and hold manufacturers accountable for forcing upgrades or disposal.”

An image of the NGC 5353/4 galaxy group made with a telescope at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, USA on the night of Saturday 25 May 2019. The diagonal lines running across the image are trails of reflected light left by more than 25 of 60 Starlink satellites as they passed through the telescope’s field of view. Although this image serves as an illustration of the impact of reflections from satellite constellations, please note that the density of these satellites is significantly higher in the days after launch (as seen here) and also that the satellites will diminish in brightness as they reach their final orbital altitude.
Credit: Victoria Girgis/Lowell Observatory

Wanted: Environmental reviews

Gutterman explains that the number of satellites in mega-constellations that power satellite internet has increased by 127 times in five years.

That increase has come in large part due to SpaceX and its Starlink system.

“At peak deployment of these disposable satellites, 29 tons of metal will re-enter our atmosphere per day. That’s almost like a Jeep Cherokee falling from space every hour,” Gutterman adds.

The PIRG analysis notes that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted licenses for over 30,000 satellites to SpaceX alone, without requiring environmental impact studies. That said, the FCC “should coordinate closely with regulators to require extensive environmental reviews for the new space age.

Image credit: Johan Swanepoel/Adobe Stock via RAND

Ramifications

Underscored by PIRG are ramifications of putting in place mega-constellations, such as atmospheric pollution, rocket launch emissions, space debris and collisions, as well as light pollution – a concern raised in astronomical circles.

Called out by PIRG, the FCC should:

1. Pause new satellite internet low Earth orbit satellite launches until the Federal Communications Commission conducts environmental reviews for mega-constellations.
2. FCC should end the environmental categorical exclusion of satellites.

Short window of time

PIRG’s concluding view is that new large scale technologies require oversight and study.

Image credit: NOAA

“The long term effects of this massive change to our environment aren’t clear. What is clear is that we can bring the world online without the unknown environmental harms of satellite mega-constellations,” explains PIRG.

“The FCC should coordinate closely with the EPA, NASA, and other national and international regulators to require extensive environmental reviews for the new space age. We’re in a short window of time when we can prevent making a mess of space and our atmosphere rather than spend decades cleaning it up,” they conclude.

For more information on PIRG and its interest in these space issues, go to: “Are satellites bad for the environment?” at:

https://pirg.org/edfund/articles/are-satellites-bad-for-the-environment/

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