Orbital Data Centers Prompt FCC Review Amid Growing Environmental Alarm

A coalition of three environmental nonprofits—Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Earthjustice, and DarkSky International—has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging a pause on new licenses for “orbital datacenter” projects proposed by companies such as SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, and other tech firms. The petition argues that the applications violate federal law because they lack adequate assessment of cumulative environmental harms from the projected deployment of millions of satellites that would serve as space-based data centers.

The Guardian

Scientists warn that rockets and satellites release a cocktail of pollutants—including black carbon, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, aluminum oxide, chlorine gases, mercury, and rare metals—into the stratosphere. A NOAA-sponsored stratospheric measurement flight in late 2023 detected metals embedded in sulfuric-acid aerosols, a component that helps regulate Earth’s temperature and shields the ozone layer. Researchers say the interaction between these injected metals and existing aerosols is “largely unknown.” Light-pollution advocates also note that the proliferation of satellites threatens nocturnal ecosystems, with potential impacts on fireflies and other insects.

The Guardian

The number of active satellites in orbit has risen from roughly 1,400 in 2015 to about 15,000 today, and industry forecasts anticipate up to 100,000 satellites within the next decade. Existing “mega-constellations” such as Starlink and Amazon’s broadband network already comprise around 10,000 satellites. Cowboy Space Corporation, founded by the co-CEO of Robinhood, seeks a 20,000-satellite system with a first launch slated for 2028. The petition warns that the cumulative effect of “more than a million satellites” could overwhelm atmospheric and orbital environments.

The Guardian

The petition cites the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as the statutory framework requiring the FCC to evaluate public-interest, convenience, and necessity before granting permits. It notes that SpaceX’s FCC filing frames orbital datacenters as essential to humanity’s “multi-planetary future” but offers only a vague pledge to develop “industry-leading brightness mitigations.”

The Guardian

• “There is a lot of complex material in these things, and even if they do burn up, you do not want to be filling up the atmosphere with refuse from these any more than you would want it coming from a smoke stack,” — Steve Volz

The Guardian

• “These projects could permanently alter the night sky as we know it,” — Ruskin Hartley, executive director of DarkSky International

The Guardian

These statements underscore the petitioners’ view that the proposed satellite networks could introduce unprecedented atmospheric refuse and permanently alter the night sky.

The Guardian