– Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched over 6,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of its Starlink internet constellation, and plans over 40,000 total satellites.
– However, the impact of this many satellites in orbit is uncertain and regulation has not caught up with large commercial satellite constellations.
– A new report from the environmental group PIRG calls for more review of the environmental effects, such as how satellites are disposed of after their 5-year lifespan and whether burning up in the atmosphere could pollute the ozone layer.
– SpaceX and other companies like Amazon plan to constantly replace aged satellites, but there is no way to reuse them and critics argue this leads to wasteful amounts of space junk.
– The report calls for regulatory agencies like the FCC and EPA to conduct environmental reviews before allowing further large-scale satellite deployments.
– While SpaceX argues its system is safe so far, some experts believe risks are not fully understood and more oversight is needed as technology changes how we use and pollute space.
Source: Futurism
