Tereza is a London-based science and technology journalist, aspiring fiction writer and amateur gymnast. She worked as a reporter at the Engineering and Technology magazine, freelanced for a range of publications including Live Science, Space.
TechnologySatellite streaks, like the ones seen in this composite image, are a subject of increasing concern for astronomers. And SpaceX's plan to launch a million AI data centers in space could make the problem much worse.
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Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!SpaceX's plan to launch one million orbiting data centers to space worries astronomers,who say the satellite streaks caused by the proposed constellation would severely impair observations.'s envisioned constellation of one million orbital data centers would result in possibly tens of thousands of moving objects as bright asthat are visible in the night sky at any given moment, even to the naked eye, according to astronomer and dark sky consultant John Barentine.'s application to launch the constellation, which the company filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 30.. Those spacecraft are visible to the naked eye only shortly after launch, because they dim as they raise their orbital altitude. The Starlinks still leave streaks in telescope images, but SpaceX has, aftermanaged to reduce the satellites' brightness by using less reflective materials and tilting reflective components like solar panels away from Earth. The brightness of newer Starlink satellites dropped to just above the limit recommended by the"It really feels like it's undermining what we have achieved in the last few years, which wasn't ideal for astronomy, but was a far cry from what we feared in 2019 when the Starlink program began," he told Space.com."We felt we were heading in the right direction that was reasonably sustainable. And this feels like a complete reversal of that.", each of the orbiting data centers could be up to 330 feet long, circling Earth at altitudes between 310 miles and 1,243 miles pole to pole with a constant exposure to sunlight. "The other constellations that we have dealt with so far are mostly at lower altitudes and in lower-inclination orbits," Barentine said."That means the satellites spend most of their time in Earth's shadow. We really don't see them very much in the middle of the night, or they are not that bright. But the data centers will be in high-inclination orbits and will be fully illuminated by sunlight even as seen from the ground at midnight."Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors Barentine described the proposal as a"vastly different prospect" compared to all other existing and planned constellations. "This is a challenge unlike any we have encountered thus far in this new era of commercial space," he said. The development comes just as the astronomical world brings online some of the most powerful sky-observing machines of all time, designed to push the limits of the human understanding ofGoogle's proposed data center in orbit will face issues with space debris in an already crowded orbitThe Rubin Observatory will change the game for astronomy — if satellite companies don't get in the way "We could schedule our observations so that we aren't looking in the direction of the satellite when it's passing or close the shutter in front of our cameras and reopen it later on," said Barentine."But at some point, the amount of time the shutter is closed starts degrading your observations. And I worry that, with more than a million objects, the shutter would be closed more than it would be open." In addition, Barentine and his colleagues estimate that, with the expected rate of replacement of the constellation's satellites with newer technology, one old spacecraft would be burning up inof potentially dangerous pollutants such as aluminum oxide and lithium in the upper atmosphere, which could lead to ozone depletion and temperature changes. Currently, about three old satellites or used rocket bodies perish in the atmosphere every day. Further air pollution would come from the frequent rocket launches needed to deploy and maintain the constellation. The project would also increase the risk ofThe researchers are even more concerned about the development because the FCC put the application on a fast-track path, meaning SpaceX won't need to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the project. Barentine explained that, while in the past applicants had to prove that a development would not cause significant environmental harm, the fast-track process means it is now up to those objecting to a development to conduct those frequently time-consuming analyses to prove their case. "The presumption now is that the application should be approved and that it should be up to the people who might object to prove that there's a problem of some kind," said Barentine."The fact that they have fast-tracked this application, which has potentially tremendous effects not only for astronomy but for the environment too, and to do so without engaging in a full environmental review, is worrisome." The objectors had only until March 6 to submit their documentation, putting further pressure on the astronomers, according to Barentine. Tereza is a London-based science and technology journalist, aspiring fiction writer and amateur gymnast. She worked as a reporter at the Engineering and Technology magazine, freelanced for a range of publications including Live Science, Space.com, Professional Engineering, Via Satellite and Space News and served as a maternity cover science editor at the European Space Agency.NASA says its Artemis 2 moon rocket is all fixed up. It could launch astronauts to the moon on April 1 'Rick and Morty' season 9 promises 'No AI slop! Just Grade A organic slop' when it drops on Adult Swim later this year NASA says its Artemis 2 moon rocket is all fixed up. It could launch astronauts to the moon on April 1
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