{"id":820809,"date":"2026-07-23T12:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820809\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T12:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:30:08","slug":"space-datacenters-proposed-by-musk-and-bezos-catastrophic-for-planet-experts-warn-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820809\/","title":{"rendered":"Space datacenters proposed by Musk and Bezos \u2018catastrophic\u2019 for planet, experts warn | Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

Space datacenters proposed by SpaceX<\/a>, Jeff Bezos\u2019s Blue Origin<\/a> and others would release staggering levels of pollution that would probably alter the Earth\u2019s atmosphere and be \u201ccatastrophic\u201d for the planet, space industry experts and environmental groups warn in a new petition<\/a> demanding a review of their impacts.<\/p>\n

Tech companies have collectively proposed millions of \u201corbital datacenters\u201d and are pressing forward with plans, which require Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval. Among other issues, pollution from satellites and rockets burning up upon re-entry appears to be accumulating in the stratosphere<\/a> at alarming levels. The spacecraft release black soot, rare metals, aluminum oxides and other pollutants with unknown effects.<\/p>\n

Some scientists fear the pollution could destroy the ozone layer, potentially expose some people to higher levels of ultraviolet radiation, or help further destabilize the planet during the climate crisis. The pollution could also end up back on Earth, and millions of satellites would create a major source of light pollution.<\/p>\n

The petition submitted to the FCC calls for a pause on new licenses for space data center projects, arguing that the plans \u201cviolate federal law\u201d.<\/p>\n

The datacenter companies \u201cdescribe their plans in grandiose, civilization-changing terms\u201d, the petition states. \u201cBut these same proponents have refused to embrace any inquiry into the impacts of their self-claimed epochal technology on the environment, science, economy, or other values.\u201d<\/p>\n

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on 21 July. Photograph: Jennifer Briggs\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The petition was filed by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) non-profit, the Earthjustice legal non-profit, and the DarkSky International non-profit, which works to protect the sky from light pollution.<\/p>\n

Several former federal US space officials told the Guardian they doubt the orbital datacenters are feasible. But putting millions of additional satellites into orbit would create a significant environmental risk, said Steve Volz, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) satellite office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of complex material in these things, and even if they do burn up, you do not want to be filling up the atmosphere with refuse from these any more than you would want it coming from a smoke stack,\u201d Volz said. Volz was with the agency until he was put on leave<\/a> and eventually fired under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Facing fierce public opposition<\/a> from across the political spectrum to its datacenters on Earth, big tech last year began floating the idea of launching satellite datacenters into space. Some have begun seeking permits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The number of active satellites in orbit has grown exponentially from about 1,400 in 2015 to about 15,000 currently. As many as 100,000 are expected to be in orbit within the decade, not including the datacenter networks. As of now, the bulk of the satellites\u2019 pollution is thought to come from Starlink and Amazon\u2019s \u201cmega constellations\u201d that provide broadband internet made up of about 10,000 satellites.<\/p>\n

Spacecraft can cause problems on their way up and down. Launches emit a range of emissions like black carbon, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, aluminum oxide, chlorine gases and, once in orbit, mercury<\/a>. When satellites are decommissioned five to 15 years later, they release metals as they vaporize. That\u2019s injecting pollutants into previously pristine parts of the stratosphere, a highly sensitive system, and there\u2019s very little understanding of the consequences.<\/p>\n

Scientists only began to discover some of the impact in late 2023, when a Noaa-sponsored stratospheric measurement flight<\/a> found metals in sulfuric acid aerosols that make up much of the stratosphere. These aerosols are thought to play an outsize role in regulating the Earth\u2019s temperature, and may partly function as a planetary \u201csunscreen\u201d by creating high-level clouds that reflect solar radiation, and they simultaneously keep greenhouse gases and pollution from entering the ozone layer from below.<\/p>\n

But how the spacecraft metals, naturally occurring metals and sulfuric acid aerosols interact is \u201clargely unknown\u201d, scientists behind the study said. Further research has not been conducted under Trump.<\/p>\n

The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts off from LC36 at the Cape Canaveral space force station on 19 April in Florida. Photograph: John Raoux\/AP<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, advocates say plants and animals rely on the darkness, and light pollution is contributing to firefly and other insect die-offs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese projects could permanently alter the night sky as we know it,\u201d said Ruskin Hartley, executive director of DarkSky International. \u201cThe FCC needs to take seriously its obligation to ensure these projects do not cause unnecessary harm to naturally dark skies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cole Donovan, a former Noaa space policy expert now with the Stand Up for Science non-profit, noted that the space datacenters would demand a huge amount of rare metals and other resources that are already in short supply, creating another environmental challenge on the ground.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of satellites raises a raft of new legal and environmental questions. The petition claims Congress requires the FCC to determine \u201cwhether the public interest, convenience, and necessity will be served by the granting\u201d of an application to operate a satellite.<\/p>\n

The groups say the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa), which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of their proposed projects, covers the satellites. Nepa would provide mechanisms to \u201cassess impacts, propose alternatives, examine mitigation, and disclose risks that would help inform whether such proposals are in the public interest,\u201d the petition states.<\/p>\n

Among those requesting permits is the Cowboy Space<\/a> Corporation, which was founded by the billionaire co-CEO of Robinhood, who aspires \u201cto build an American power grid in space\u201d. It wants to establish a 20,000-satellite system, with its first launch in 2028. The petition states that Cowboy Space\u2019s only reference to environmental mitigation in its FCC application is a promise that the constellation \u201cwill be designed and operated to minimize potential impact on the astronomy community\u201d.<\/p>\n

The petition notes that SpaceX claims in its FCC application that its orbital datacenters will \u201censur[e] humanity\u2019s multi-planetary future amongst the stars\u201d, but its only reference to environmental risk is a claim that it would \u201cdevelop industry-leading brightness mitigations\u201d, though it offers no other detail.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the tech companies\u2019 FCC applications provide no meaningful consideration of environmental consequences, the petition states.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo proponent has provided satisfactory detail to explain how it will mitigate the cumulative environmental harms flowing from the foreseeable operation of more than a million satellites, orbiting our planet, colliding and disintegrating and plummeting back to Earth,\u201d the petition states.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Space datacenters proposed by SpaceX, Jeff Bezos\u2019s Blue Origin and others would release staggering levels of pollution that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[49,48,66,306],"class_list":["post-820809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}