Scientists and conservation groups have asked the Federal Communications Commission to slow down plans for data centers in orbit, warning that the satellites will foul the upper atmosphere when they burn up at the end of their lives.
The petition to the FCC came from groups including PEER, Earthjustice and DarkSky International, alongside space scientists. Their concern is the sheer number of spacecraft involved. They say millions of server-equipped satellites would, on re-entry, release aluminum oxides, rare earth metals and mercury, and that these would collect in the stratosphere.
Smokestacks in the sky
Researchers fear the metallic debris could damage the ozone layer. A thinner layer would let more harmful ultraviolet radiation reach the ground and add to pressures on the climate.
Steve Volz, a former director of the satellite office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), likened the burning satellites to industrial smokestacks. In his comparison, they pour complex, unregulated waste into a sensitive part of the sky.
A fast-growing fleet
The count of active satellites stood at 1,400 in 2015. It is now roughly 15,000, with Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper project driving most of the growth. Projections suggest the total could pass 100,000 within the decade.
Technology firms are also looking up for somewhere to put their servers, as an alternative to land-based data centers. Cowboy Space, founded by a Robinhood co-founder, has filed an FCC application to launch 20,000 orbital data servers starting in 2028. SpaceX has made similar filings.
The advocates say neither company has shown how it would limit the harm. Cowboy Space gave a vague pledge to minimize disruption to astronomers. SpaceX pointed to broad intentions to make its satellites less bright. Neither supplied a detailed assessment of the chemical pollution that comes from burning satellites in the atmosphere.
With more than one million satellites possibly slated for deployment in the coming years, the petitioners want regulators to stop issuing new orbital licenses until independent scientific studies have weighed the risks to the atmosphere.
