WASHINGTON, July 7 — A coalition of environmental and scientific groups is pressing federal regulators to halt new satellite launches until the full environmental toll of the growing number of constellations in low-Earth orbit can be assessed. The Union of Concerned Scientists, founded in 1969, filed formal comments with the Federal Communications Commission in June 2024 opposing a proposal that would exempt satellite constellations from review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The UCS argued that the cumulative environmental impact of thousands of satellite reentries each year could be significant and that the FCC should prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement before moving forward. The Environmental Defense Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Natural Resources Defense Council also submitted comments alongside the UCS, all raising concerns about the lack of environmental oversight for what is rapidly becoming a major industrial activity in space.
In 2023, the UCS published a report titled “The Environmental Costs of Satellite Constellations,” which estimated that by 2030, satellite reentries could release over 360 metric tons of aluminum oxides annually. These compounds, produced when satellites burn up on reentering the atmosphere, can persist in the upper atmosphere and potentially affect ozone chemistry. The groups have called for a moratorium on new satellite launches until a full environmental review is completed.
They argue that the current pace of deployment — with companies planning constellations of thousands of satellites — is outpacing the regulatory framework designed to protect the environment. The FCC proposal that sparked the UCS comments would have exempted satellite constellations from NEPA review, a step the groups say would remove one of the few existing checks on the environmental impacts of space activities.
NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their actions before making decisions. The UCS and its allies contend that the cumulative impact of satellite reentries — each one releasing a small amount of aluminum and other materials — adds up to a significant environmental burden when multiplied across thousands of satellites with lifespans of just a few years. The UCS has been a consistent voice on the environmental dimensions of space activities.
Its 2023 report laid out the scale of the problem in concrete terms, projecting that by the end of this decade, the annual release of aluminum oxides from satellite reentries could exceed 360 metric tons — a figure that the groups say warrants serious regulatory attention. What to watch next is whether the FCC responds to the comments filed by the UCS and the other groups.
The moratorium called for by the groups would represent a significant shift in policy, potentially slowing the deployment of new constellations until the environmental questions are answered.
