TAMPA, Fla. Viasat, a satellite broadband competitor to SpaceX, told the FCC May 2 that there is increasing evidence that SpaceX needs to conduct an environmental review before it approves SpaceXs plans for nearly 30,000 satellites to be added to its Starlink constellation.
SpaceX shouldn’t have to be allowed to significantly expand its Starlink network while light pollution concerns surrounding its deployed satellites remain unresolved. Jarrett Taubman was Viasat vice-president and deputy chief for government affairs. He wrote to the regulator.
Viasat’s Starlinks current generation of satellites requires a thorough environmental review. December 2020Taubman stated that SpaceX’s plan to expand the constellation seven times would have significant aesthetic and scientific and cultural effects on Earth’s human environment.
SpaceX has already been deployed More than halfThe FCC approved the operation of 4,408 Starlink satellites first-generation at altitudes around 550 km. The company is FCC approval requiredIt proposes to have a larger constellation second-generation Starlinks, and to operate at lower altitudes (between 340 and 614 kilometers) in order to improve performance.
Viasat says that Starlinks light polluting would be worse if there were more satellites orbiting the Earth. Astronomers and Viasat agree.
The FCC rejected Viasats request to conduct an environmental review of Starlink. It urged SpaceX, in turn, to continue working closely with astronomers to reduce the brightness of its satellites.
SpaceX has stated that it is incorporating visorsStarlink satellites to keep sunlight from reflecting off of them, and other measures to reduce interference to astronomers.
Taubman stated that the FCC has not yet fully addressed the problem of constellations light polluting.
He stated that there is mounting evidence including analysis by independent specialistsof the adverse, continuing and increasing impact Starlink operations have on the night skies despite any such efforts.
The letter pointed to a paper by astronomers that was published in Nature Astronomy AprilAccording to Starlink, and other LEO constellations, none of the techniques they are exploring can completely avoid them harming astronomical research. Launching significantly fewer satellites is therefore the only mitigation.
In A Feb. 8 letterNASA told the FCC that SpaceX’s proposed Gen 2 network could double Hubble Space Telescope images with satellite streaks. Currently, 8% of all images contain them. This would reduce the United States’ ability to detect and possibly redirect asteroids headed towards Earth.
NASA estimates that every asteroid-survey image taken by the Commercial Space Transportation Interagency Group will contain a Starlink. This would decrease asteroid survey effectiveness by making portions of images unusable.
SpaceX did not respond when we asked for comment.
10 of the 17 Falcon 9 mission launched this year were for Starlink. They have launched over 500 satellites to the constellation. According to statisticsJonathan McDowell, an astronomer and spaceflight analyst.
Launch of the next Starlink satellites is scheduled for May 5.