WASHINGTON – Viasat has asked the Federal Communications Commission to conduct an environmental review of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation, arguing that the satellite system poses environmental hazards in space and on Earth.
In a December 22 submission, Viasat formally requested that the FCC conduct either an environmental assessment or a stricter environmental impact statement from Starlink before approving a SpaceX request to amend its existing system license so that it could close nearly 3,000 satellites. in lower can drive. orbit.
Satellite systems have long existed as a categorical exemption from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies such as the FCC to assess the environmental impact of their actions. The release, implemented by the FCC in the mid-1980s, was based on the analysis at the time that the launch of individual satellites would not have measurable effects on the environment.
The size of SpaceX’s Starlink system, which is currently authorized for about 12,000 satellites, is changing the calculus, Viasat argued in its petition. “But given the large number of satellites in question here, as well as the unparalleled nature of treating SpaceX as efficiently consumable, the potential environmental damage is related to SpaceX’s proposed change,” the company said.
“Rely on the Commission’s decades-old categorical exemption to even avoid enquire “The environmental impact of SpaceX’s amendment proposal will not only violate the NEPA, but also unnecessarily jeopardize the environmental, aesthetic, health, safety and economic interests it seeks to protect and harm the public interest,” Viasat continued ( the original emphasis falls.)
Part of the petition addresses orbital litter. Viasat has been a critical critic in the FCC filing over the past few months over the reliability of Starlink satellites and is concerned that non-orbiting satellites could contribute to the growing junk population in LEO. The company cited statistics claiming that a failure rate of as high as 7%, although it includes many of the original “v0.9” Starlink satellites launched in May 2019 and that SpaceX has deliberately dorbited.
SpaceX has argued that the failure rate on the runway is much lower, but Viasat has argued that the FCC should assess the overall risk of increased collisions as part of an environmental review. “The Commission cannot accept the word SpaceX for the fact that the thousands of satellites it wants to pack into a lower orbit will not significantly increase the risk of collisions and will produce excessive space debris – especially because SpaceX knows that when its satellites do with other spaces collide. objects and shatter or fail, it can always start more, ”reads the statement.
Viasat’s argument for an environmental review goes beyond track residues. It claims that both the launch and entry of Starlink satellites pose environmental hazards, from the production of ozone-depleting chemicals by launch vehicles to chemicals released into the atmosphere when satellites burn up on re-entry and debris reaching the ground.
The petition cites research by The Aerospace Corporation on the atmospheric impact of launches and re-entries. During the fall meeting of the U.S. Geophysical Union earlier this month, the organization presented research that concluded that the rise of satellite mega-constellations could increase the mass of satellites entering the atmosphere from about 100 tons per year to as much as 3,200 tons.
However, the Aerospace study only found potential for the environmental impacts caused by an increasing number of re-entering satellites, and said further study is needed on what the impact might be. “Our preparatory work merely indicates that, given the current and expected increase in large constellations, there is potential for environmental impact, and that further study is therefore recommended,” said William Ailor, technical associate of the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris. Studies, said SpaceNews.
A third argument for an environmental review is the effect Starlink will have on the night sky. The petition said that since the first group of Starlink satellites was launched in 2019, the constellation could influence astronomical observations and that it could also have a cultural impact.
Satellites in lower orbits, Viasat added, will be brighter. “The Commission’s decision will therefore directly affect the amount of light pollution in the environment and place NEPA’s responsibilities on the shoulders of the Commission,” the company said.
Viasat’s petition is not the first attempt to request an environmental review from Starlink. In April it makes sense. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) And Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) asked the government’s accounting office to investigate the FCC’s categorical release for satellite systems. It particularly cited concerns about light pollution by an unnamed satellite constellation with a description similar to Starlink. An article published in a law journal in January also suggested that NEPA appeal to Starlink’s effects on astronomy.
The GAO did not publicly respond to the request of the senators. However, astronomers have since reported that they are satisfied with the degree of collaboration with SpaceX to reduce the impact of the Starlink constellation on their observations. This included the inclusion of sighters on Starlink satellites to prevent sunlight from reflecting off the satellites, thus reducing their brightness.
“SpaceX is at the forefront of trying to understand these issues and design the mitigation of their satellites,” Tony Tyson, chief scientist at the Vera Rubin Observatory, said at an information session in August about a workshop that held earlier this summer on the subject.
SpaceX did not comment on the Viasat FCC filing. The company has a range of ex parte meetings with FCC staff this month on its proposed amendment to its Starlink license, according to the commission’s documentation, including a request to send a set of Starlink satellites into a solar-synchronized orbit to take advantage of a unspecified “emerging availability of the pool launch.”