It is not just shop windows, public lighting and illuminated advertisements that are accused of having a negative impact on nocturnal biodiversity. This is also the case for satellites, the number of which is likely to explode by 2030. They are accused in particular of being harmful to astronomy and the contemplation of the Milky Way.
100,000 satellites will saturate the celestial vault by 2030
Due to deprivation of the sky and competition between different satellite internet provider groups, which rely on the constellation of telecommunications satellites, the sky will be flooded with small satellites by the end of the decade, with up to 100,000 satellites in orbit, according to Reporterre.
Companies like Starlink, but also One web, Kuiper systems, and Guowang deploy tens of thousands of satellites to enable real-time Internet browsing and a much higher level of accuracy. Starlink is deploying this equipment to facilitate the construction of much more precise geolocation systems, which could become “an autonomous navigation system” instead of a simple addition to the GPS.
This explosion in the number of satellites will not be without consequences for astronomy researchers who will see up to 60% of their images unusable. According to the Universe Today website, the main concern of professional astronomy is the impact on current and future surveys of the whole sky, such as those made by the Vera C. Rubin Telescope. A recent paper published in Nature notes that the 1.5-meter-sized Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) telescope at Palomar sees Starlink streaks in 18% of its deep-sky images.
Moving artificial “stars” will obscure the real ones
Although Starlink is named as the most important player in light intensity in space, researchers predict an even more disturbed observation for astronomers, due to new players in the sky: OneWeb has already deployed 218 satellites for its own constellation, although the war in Ukraine has stalled the global launch campaign to make it operational by the end of 2022. Amazon’s Kuiper constellation will also begin deployment in late 2022/early 2023. Additionally, SpaceX has recently acquired Swarm’s Internet of Things satellites and applied to use the 2Ghz band technology in the near future.
No global legislation governs the occupation of space
For Guillaume Cannat, author of Guide du Ciel, the occupation of space is the new “far west”. No global legislation governs its occupation. While in June 2022, the UN created a center for the protection of the sky against satellite constellations, intended to identify problems related to its use, the organization has no decision-making power, notes the specialist.