{"id":487321,"date":"2026-02-18T06:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T06:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/487321\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T06:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T06:02:08","slug":"too-many-satellites-earths-orbit-is-on-track-for-a-catastrophe-but-we-can-stop-it-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/487321\/","title":{"rendered":"Too many satellites? Earth\u2019s orbit is on track for a catastrophe \u2013 but we can stop it"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 30 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of up to one million satellites<\/a> to power data centres in space<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The proposal envisions satellites operating between 500 and 2,000 kilometres in low Earth orbit. Some of the orbits are designed for near-constant exposure to sunlight. The public can currently submit comments<\/a> on this proposal.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s filing is just the latest among exponentially growing satellite megaconstellation proposals<\/a>. Such satellites operate with a single purpose and have short replacement life cycles of about five years.<\/p>\n

As of February 2026, approximately 14,000 active satellites<\/a> are in orbit. An additional 1.23 million proposed satellite projects<\/a> are in various stages of development.<\/p>\n

The approval process for these satellites focuses almost entirely on the limited technical info companies have to submit to regulators.<\/p>\n

Cultural, spiritual, and most environmental impacts aren\u2019t taken into account \u2013 but they should be.<\/p>\n

The night sky will drastically change<\/p>\n

At this scale of growth, the night sky will change permanently and globally for generations to come<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Satellites in low Earth orbit reflect sunlight for about two hours after sunset and before sunrise. Despite engineering efforts to make them less bright<\/a>, truck-sized satellites from many megaconstellations look like moving points in the night sky. Projections show future satellites will significantly increase this light pollution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2021, astronomers estimated that in less than a decade, 1 in every 15 points of light in the night sky would be a moving satellite<\/a>. That estimate only included the 65,000 megaconstellation satellites proposed at the time.<\/p>\n

Once deployed at a scale of millions, the impacts on the night sky may not be easily reversed.<\/p>\n

While the average satellite only lasts about five years, companies design these megaconstellations for nearly continuous replacement and expansion. This locks in a continuous, industrialised presence in the night sky.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All this is causing a space-based \u201cshifting baseline syndrome<\/a>\u201d, where each new generation accepts a progressively more degraded night sky. Criss-crossing satellites become the new normal.<\/p>\n

And for the first time in human history, this shifting baseline means kids today won\u2019t grow up with the same night sky every previous generation of humanity had access to.<\/p>\n

\"AHouston, we have a \u2018mega\u2019 problem<\/p>\n

Concerns over the sheer volume of proposed satellites come from many sides.<\/p>\n

Scientific concerns include bright reflections<\/a> and radio emissions<\/a> from satellites that will disrupt astronomy.<\/p>\n

Industry experts also note traffic management and logistical concerns. There\u2019s currently no form of unified space traffic management<\/a> in the same way that exists in aviation, for example.<\/p>\n

Megaconstellations also increase the risk of Kessler syndrome, a runaway chain reaction of collisions<\/a>. There are already 50,000 pieces of debris in orbit<\/a> that are ten centimetres or larger. If satellites stopped all collision avoidance manoeuvres, the latest data shows we can expect a major collision in 3.8 days<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Major cultural concerns abound, too. Satellite light pollution will negatively impact Indigenous uses of the night sky<\/a> for longstanding oral traditions<\/a>, navigation, hunting, and spiritual traditions.<\/p>\n

Launching so many satellites uses up vast amounts of fossil fuels, damaging the ozone layer<\/a>. After the satellites have served their purpose, the end-of-life plan is to burn them up in the atmosphere. This poses another environmental concern \u2013 depositing vast quantities of metals into the stratosphere<\/a>, causing ozone depletion<\/a> and other potentially harmful chemical reactions.<\/p>\n

All this feeds into legal concerns. Under international space law<\/a>, countries \u2013 not companies \u2013 are liable for harm caused by their space objects.<\/p>\n

Space lawyers are increasingly trying to understand if international space law can actually hold corporations<\/a> or private individuals accountable. This is especially important as the risk of damage, death<\/a> or permanent environmental damage<\/a> grows.<\/p>\n

Read more: Property and sovereignty in space \u2212 as countries and companies take to the stars, they could run into disputes<\/a> <\/p>\n

We can no longer ignore the gaps in regulation<\/p>\n

Currently, the main regulations concerning satellite proposals are technical, such as deciding which radio frequencies they will use. At national levels, regulators focus on launch safety, lessening environmental impacts on Earth, and liability if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n

What these regulations don\u2019t capture is how hundreds of thousands of bright satellites change the night sky for scientific study, navigation, Indigenous teaching and ceremony, and cultural continuity.<\/p>\n

These are not traditional \u201cenvironmental\u201d harms, nor are they technical engineering concerns. They\u2019re cultural impacts that fall into a regulatory blind spot.<\/p>\n

This is why the world needs a Dark Skies Impact Assessment, as proposed<\/a> by space lawyers Gregory Radisic and Natalie Gillespie.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a systematic way to identify, document, and meaningfully consider all the impacts of a proposed satellite constellation before it goes ahead.<\/p>\n

How would such an assessment work?<\/p>\n

First, evidence must be gathered from all stakeholders. Astronomers (both amateur and professional), atmospheric scientists, environmental researchers, cultural scholars, affected communities, and industry all bring their perspectives.<\/p>\n

Second, it\u2019s essential to model any cumulative effects of the satellites. Assessments should analyse how constellations will change night sky visibility and skyglow<\/a>, orbital congestion<\/a>, and the risk of casualties on the ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Third, it will define clear criteria for when unobstructed sky visibility is critical for science, navigation, education, cultural practice, and shared human heritage.<\/p>\n

Fourth, it must include mitigation pathways such as brightness reduction, orbital design changes, and deployment adjustments to lessen harm. This should include incentives for using as few satellites as possible for a given project.<\/p>\n

Finally, the findings must be transparent, independently reviewable, and directly tied to licensing and policy decisions.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a veto tool<\/p>\n

A Dark Skies Impact Assessment doesn\u2019t prevent space development. It clarifies trade-offs and improves decision making.<\/p>\n

It can lead to design choices that reduce brightness and visual interference, orbital configurations that lessen cultural impact, earlier and more meaningful consultation, and cultural considerations where harm can\u2019t be avoided.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, it ensures that communities affected by satellite constellations aren\u2019t finding out about them after approval has already been granted and bright lights crawl across their skies.<\/p>\n

The question is not whether the night sky will change \u2013 it\u2019s already changing. Now is the time for governments and international institutions to design fair processes before those changes become permanent.<\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a>. It was written by: Gregory Radisic<\/a>, Bond University<\/a> and Samantha Lawler<\/a>, University of Regina<\/a> <\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Gregory Radisic is affiliated with the International Institute of Space Law, and the Institute on Space Law and Ethics at For All Moonkind Inc.<\/p>\n

Samantha Lawler receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She is a fellow of the Outer Space Institute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On January 30 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[64,63,72961,20410,128,98852,246551],"class_list":{"0":"post-487321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-low-earth-orbit","11":"tag-satellites","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-starlink-satellites","14":"tag-the-night-sky"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}