The post Satellites vs. the Night Sky appeared first on EMFSA.

The post Military Space Survey Part 5 appeared first on EMFSA.

EDITORIAL 11 August 2021

Governments and companies urgently need to share data on the mounting volume of satellites and debris orbiting Earth.

There’s an awful lot of stuff orbiting Earth, with more arriving all the time. More than 29,000 satellites, pieces of rockets and other bits of debris large enough to track from the ground are circling the planet. Smaller items number in the millions. The Californian company SpaceX alone has launched some 1,700 satellites over the past 2 years as part of its Starlink network, which provides broadband Internet, with thousands more planned. Other companies are also planning such megaconstellations, and more and more nations are launching or plan to launch satellites.

This growing congestion is drastically increasing the risk of collisions in space. At the European Space Agency’s operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany, which controls key research spacecraft, hundreds of e-mail alerts arrive each day warning of potential space smash-ups. And, in May, NASA engineers spotted a 5-millimetre-wide hole in one of the International Space Station’s robotic arms, created by a collision with an unknown piece of space junk.

These close calls highlight not only the need to be more thoughtful about what we put into space, but also that it’s well past time the global space community developed a sustainable framework for managing space traffic. Such a move would benefit both the scientists who rely on observations from orbit and humanity as a whole, because satellites are crucial for modern communication and navigation.

History offers some lessons about how to operate safely in newly crowded domains. During the early twentieth century, aviation boomed and pilots ran into congestion in the skies. Air-traffic controllers ultimately developed a system of coordinating between cities and across borders, sharing information about aeroplanes’ locations so that pilots could avoid crashing into one another.

But there are no traffic cops in space, nor international borders with clearly delineated areas of responsibility. To avoid further damage, it’s crucial that satellite operators have an accurate and up-to-date list of where objects are in space. At present, the main global catalogue of space objects is published at Space-Track.org by the US Space Command, a branch of the military. The catalogue is the most widely used public listing available, but it lacks some satellites that countries — including the United States, China and Russia — have not acknowledged publicly. In part because of this lack of transparency, other nations also track space objects, and some private companies maintain commercially available catalogues.

Read more at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02167-5

Nature 596, 163 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02167-5

The post The world must cooperate to avoid a catastrophic space collision appeared first on EMFSA.

Since 2019, the night sky — as seen by both human eyes and the telescopes we use to enhance our views of the Universe — has begun to fundamentally change as never before. Previously, only three major obstacles interfered with our views of the Universe:

1. light pollution, brought about by the advance of electrical lighting and made worse by the recent advent of inexpensive, low-power, high-brightness LEDs,
2. the atmosphere, including clouds, weather, and air conditions, all of which can interfere with our view of the planets, stars, and deep-sky objects beyond,
3. and satellites, the human-created objects that only began launching with the advent of the space age, most of which were up there for scientific or telecommunications purposes.

However, just two years ago, an enormous number of bright, low-flying satellites began to go up, as first SpaceX and then others began to launch the first megaconstellations of satellites. Occupying low-Earth orbit, these megaconstellation members now make up nearly half of all active satellites, and are expected to rise into the tens or even the hundreds of thousands in number by the end of the decade. However, in mid-July, astronomers and industry representatives met for SATCON2: an attempt to bring concerned professionals together to identify and find solutions for the problems that come along with this new type of infrastructure.

Without significant, rapid, large-scale action, the night sky will likely be forever changed. Here’s what we can do about it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2021/07/22/how-to-save-the-night-sky-from-satellite-megaconstellations/?sh=360611827c50

The post How To Save The Night Sky From Satellite Megaconstellations appeared first on EMFSA.

Source: Nature doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01954-4

16 July 2021

Working with the United Nations, scientists hope to establish standards for satellite ‘megaconstellations’ and reduce disruption of astronomical observations.

Alexandra Witze

Aerospace companies have launched about 2,000 Internet satellites into orbit around Earth over the past 2 years, nearly doubling the number of active satellites. This has sparked concerns among astronomers and other skygazers, who worry about interference with observations of the night sky.

Now, in what would be the biggest international step yet towards addressing these concerns, diplomats at a United Nations forum next month might discuss whether humanity has a right to ‘dark and quiet skies’. The debate could initiate a framework for how scientists and the public would deal with the flood of new satellites — with many more expected.

Tens of thousands of satellites could be added to Earth orbit in the next few years to provide broadband Internet, if companies and governments build and launch all the networks, or ‘megaconstellations’, they have publicly announced. The sheer number of these could mean that hundreds are visible all night long, affecting the sky like never before in human history. “These constellations are changing dramatically the way space has been used,” says Piero Benvenuti, an astronomer at the University of Padua in Italy and a former general secretary of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

He and other astronomers have been working through the IAU to raise international awareness of how the megaconstellations are affecting scientists and members of the public. They say the goal is not to pit astronomers against satellite companies, but to develop a vision of how to fairly use the shared, but ungoverned, realm of outer space. “The consensus has to come from all the countries,” says Connie Walker, an astronomer at the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Scientists discussed these and other topics at a conference on satellite constellations, called SATCON2, that was held virtually from 12 to 16 July.

‘Free for exploration’

Many astronomers were caught by surprise in 2019, when the first batch of Starlink Internet satellites launched by SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, turned out to be brighter than expected in astronomical images. In response to complaints, SpaceX tested several strategies to darken the satellites; it now launches all of its Starlinks with sunshades attached, to make them less visible when sunlight reflects off them. Astronomers and representatives of several companies, including SpaceX, have settled on a brightness threshold for satellites that is slightly fainter than the human eye can see in a dark sky. Starlinks are close to that brightness threshold but do not currently meet it, says Meredith Rawls, an astronomer at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Read more at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01954-4

The post Astronomers push for global debate on giant satellite swarms appeared first on EMFSA.

Astronomical Society of Edinburgh

Live public discussion with Andy Lawrence, Brian Eno, Catherine Heymans, Mark McCaughrean from ESA, Amy Mehlman from Viasat, and many others. Read Andy Lawrence’s book about this subject: “Losing the Sky”. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Losing-Sky-A…

Thousands of satellites are now being launched into Low Earth Orbit in “mega-constellations” to give us high speed internet from space, with the prospect of tens of thousands more, as competition heats up. But many astronomers are furious, as the satellites streak brightly across their images, and space experts are worried that we are headed towards unsustainable overcrowding. Are we selling off space? Polluting our last wilderness? Losing our right to see the stars? Opening the door to adverts in the sky? Or are these things a reasonable price to pay to connect up the world to the internet, at the fastest possible speeds? Discussion so far has been highly technical, in scientific and business meetings. This live public discussion brings together experts from across the globe to demystify the issues and debate the options, following on from the issues explored in the popular book “Losing The Sky” by Professor Andy Lawrence. Astronomical Science: Why are astronomers worried? Connecting the world: Why are space companies building huge constellations? Environment and culture: What is our right to the sky? Should we care? Space Junk: Does the growth of space debris really threaten everybody’s use of space? Space Law: Who has the say on who is allowed to do what, and should it change? Where do we go from here? More information about the event: https://andyxlastro.me/losing-the-sky…

Image/clip credits: P.Marenfeld/NOIRlab; European Space Agency; Gemini Observatory; Craig Brownhill; Oliver Staiger; Rafael Schmall; NASA/STScI; Stuart Atkinson. Video made by Written in Film.

The post Astronomical Society of Edinburgh-Losing the Sky appeared first on EMFSA.

THE news that a piece of space junk collided with the robotic arm on the International Space Station, is an alarming reminder that what’s called “low Earth orbit” is becoming a crowded place. More and more stuff is out there, travelling at alarming speeds. The number of tiny satellites being sent up for broadband services is rapidly rising. All of this raises questions and a call for “responsible space behaviour”.

Should we be worried?

Many experts are saying so, among them Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, Andy Lawrence, who recently published Losing The Sky and takes part in a June 15 online event, organised by the Edinburgh Astronomical Society. Lawrence professes a love of astronomy, space exploration and the internet. “Until 2020,” he writes, “I assumed that these three loves do not clash…. It now seems that was just a Moon Age Daydream. A new generation of satellite megaconstellations is on its way, aimed at producing ubiquitous global high-speed internet connection. All very exciting – but these objects pollute the night sky, streak across our astronomical images, blare loudly and unpredictably at our radio telescopes, and increase the danger of spacecraft collisions.”

Read more at: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19347142.space-junk-next-waste-crisis-needs-solved/?ref=twtrec

The post Space junk. The next waste crisis that needs to be solved appeared first on EMFSA.

by Jason Rainbow — May 25, 2021

TAMPA, Fla. — Satellite operator Viasat is asking the FCC to stop SpaceX from launching more Starlink satellites as it heads to court to compel a thorough environmental review of the rapidly growing megaconstellation.

On Friday, Viasat formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to stay an April 27 license modification that allows SpaceX to continue building out the broadband constellation, which already numbers more than 1,600 satellites.

Starlink surpassed the 1,584 satellites permitted under its previous license in 550-kilometer orbits soon after launching a fresh batch of 52 satellites May 15. SpaceX is slated to launch 60 more May 26.

Viasat’s bid to stop or at least slow Starlink’s expansion rests on convincing a federal appeals court that the FCC was legally obligated to assess the megaconstellation’s environmental impact before approving SpaceX’s request to more than double the number of satellites it intends to operate from 550 kilometers. 

The FCC originally approved a 4,409-satellite constellation, which included 2,825 satellites in orbits of 1,100 to 1,300 kilometers and 1,584 satellites at 550 kilometers. The FCC approved on April 27 a SpaceX application to modify that license, moving the satellites in the higher orbits to 550 kilometers and tweaking the size of the overall constellation to 4,408 satellites. 

The company says it sought the modification to reduce latency, or signal lag, between space and the ground to improve video calls, gaming and other activities on the network.

In December, the FCC awarded SpaceX $890 million under the first phase of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which aims to bring broadband service to unserved homes and businesses in the United States. Low latency was a key qualifying criterion for receiving funding.  

Stopping Starlink

Of the more than 1,600 Starlink satellites in orbit, roughly 700 have launched since January. A Falcon 9 launch slated for May 26 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, would be the 13th Starlink launch of 2021. 

Viasat is asking the FCC to hit pause on further launches until federal courts can review the legality of the license modification. 

Carlsbad, California-based Viasat, which provides broadband services from geostationary orbit (GEO), had petitioned the FCC to conduct an environmental review before granting the license modification as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which currently categorically exempts satellite systems, but says this did not happen despite megaconstellations bringing new considerations for regulators.

Some astronomers had also requested an environmental assessment, worried about how the constellation’s reflectivity affects ground-based telescope observations. 

The FCC by and large rejected the requests when it approved the license modification, although it did urge SpaceX to continue to work closely with astronomers to mitigate the brightness of its satellites. The FCC offered several reasons for not performing an environmental assessment, from questioning whether light pollution is covered by NEPA to noting that the Federal Aviation Administration does its own environmental reviews as part of the launch licensing process.

Viasat said in a May 21 filing to the FCC that NEPA required it to at least consider environmental harms before granting SpaceX’s application, such as orbital debris, light pollution and the effect disintegrating satellites could have on the atmosphere. 

“We believe the FCC failed to conduct a legally required environmental review under NEPA and did not honor the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to a science-based approach to protecting the atmosphere, the Earth’s climate, space and the well-being of U.S. citizens before authorizing the launch of thousands of new Starlink satellites into low-earth orbit,” John Janka, Viasat’s chief officer for global government and regulatory affairs, said in an emailed statement.

“As such, we have asked the Commission to stay its order until the federal courts review its legality.” 

If the FCC does not grant a stay by June 1, Viasat intends to go to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where it will seek a stay and review of the modification order.

SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more at https://spacenews.com/viasat-asks-fcc-to-halt-starlink-launches-while-it-seeks-court-ruling/

The post Viasat asks FCC to halt Starlink launches while it seeks court ruling appeared first on EMFSA.

by Andrew Jones — April 21, 2021

HELSINKI — China is to oversee the construction and operation of a national satellite internet megaconstellation through coordinating the country’s major space actors. 

Recent comments by senior officials indicate that plans are moving ahead to alter earlier constellation plans by space sector state-owned enterprises and possibly make these part of a larger “Guowang” or “national network” satellite internet project. 

Spectrum allocation filings submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by China in September last year revealed plans to construct two similarly named “GW” low Earth orbit constellations totaling 12,992 satellites. 

The filings indicate plans for GW to consist of sub-constellations ranging from 500-1,145 kilometers in altitude with inclinations between 30-85 degrees. The satellites would operate across a range of frequency bands.

Read more at: https://spacenews.com/china-is-developing-plans-for-a-13000-satellite-communications-megaconstellation/

The post China is developing plans for a 13,000-satellite megaconstellation appeared first on EMFSA.