(Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
As SpaceX faces opposition to its 1 million-satellite proposal for orbiting data centers, the company has told a US regulator it plans on starting small so it can first monitor the potential atmospheric effects before a wider roll out.
On Monday, SpaceX told the Federal Communications Commission it plans on deploying the ambitious constellation in phases. The company submitted the 32-page filing as a rebuttal to the flood of comments the FCC has received about the company’s 1 million-satellite proposal, which the Commission is reviewing for possible approval.
“SpaceX understands commenters’ concerns regarding frequent launches and satellite re-entries potentially impacting Earth’s atmosphere,” the company wrote.
The filing then adds the company plans to coordinate with “relevant federal agencies and stakeholders to study how the Orbital Data Center system interacts with Earth’s atmosphere."
“Consistent with SpaceX’s commitment to environmental stewardship and data-driven decision making, SpaceX also plans a phased deployment approach for this system to monitor actual atmospheric effects, validate models with real-world data, and implement any necessary adjustments as it scales.”
(Maciej Frolow via Getty)The filing doesn’t mention the exact number of satellites that’ll be launched during the early phase. SpaceX merely wrote: “Initial operations under this license will be limited to a significantly smaller number of satellites and re-entries than the maximum authorized, providing time to monitor actual effects, validate models with real-world data, and implement any necessary adjustments before scaling.”
The proposed constellation is so large it’ll likely require thousands of rocket flights, assuming all the satellites are launched from Earth. In addition, the same satellites are only designed to operate for several years before they’re retired. To dispose of them, SpaceX has proposed de-orbiting at least some of the satellites and letting them burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Others will be retired by sending them on a path to orbit the Sun.
SpaceX already retires aging Starlink satellites by using fiery atmospheric re-entries to disintegrate the hardware. However, scientists have been questioning if burned-up satellites could release ozone depleting chemicals into the atmosphere, especially since SpaceX has already been retiring hundreds of Starlink satellites, a number that’s only expected to grow over time. An estimated 1,500 Starlink satellites have already been de-orbited, according to the astronomer Jonathan McDowell.
It’s a topic that scientists say demands more study, and some have urged governments to investigate. Interestingly, SpaceX’s letter to the FCC notes that the company itself has been “exploring novel experiments and assessment methods to better characterize the effects of re-entering satellites on Earth’s atmosphere,” although no further details were provided.
But in the same filing, SpaceX urged the Commission to continue rejecting calls for satellite constellations to undergo a “lengthy” environmental review under the National Environmental Protection Act. The company cites two studies from the European Space Agency that found the “atmospheric impact of spacecraft reentries is relatively low.” That said, both studies were first initiated back in 2019 and noted there are “still high-level uncertainties” in their modeling of the atmospheric impacts.
SpaceX sent the rebuttal when the company’s orbital data center proposal has received over 1,400 comments in the FCC’s online filing system —a staggering amount compared to a typical satellite application. In addition, much of the feedback seems to urge the FCC to deny the plan over other impacts, including interference to astronomy and light pollution concerns.
In its own filing, SpaceX said it “appreciated” the comments from the astronomy community, amateur observers and environmental advocates. But the company says it’s already working on various measures to tackle their concerns. This includes making the satellites too faint for human eyes or telescopes to see — a goal SpaceX has been trying to achieve with Starlink as well. In addition, the filing argues “orbital data centers represent the most environmentally responsible choice to meet surging AI demand" since they'll harness the "near-constant solar power in space rather than tapping terrestrial power grids."
However, the Elon Musk company didn’t hold back its criticism of rival satellite internet companies, including Amazon, which has urged the FCC to reject the 1 million satellite proposal. SpaceX accused Amazon of “fearmongering” and even failing to properly read its proposal for the orbiting data centers.
“For example, baseless claims about harmful interference from Amazon, Viasat, and WISPA (Association for Broadband Without Boundaries) reflect a fundamental failure of reading comprehension,” SpaceX said in urging the FCC to reject the “anticompetitive arguments.”
The filing also pushes back on Amazon's assertions that the 1 million-satellite constellation risks "monopolizing" orbits around Earth. "If Amazon had employed even basic math, it would realize that SpaceX’s proposed system would inhabit only 0.005% of the 1.1 trillion cubic kilometers of space across the 500–2,000 km orbits," SpaceX shot back.
But Hugh Lewis, a space debris expert and professor of astronautics at the University of Birmingham, says SpaceX's "0.005% figure" is actually misleading.
"Firstly, 0.005% of the 1.1 trillion cubic kilometres is nearly 60 million cubic kilometres. That's a huge volume of space that SpaceX is seeking to claim with its proposed ODC system. By citing a percentage of the near-total LEO (low-Earth orbit) volume, SpaceX has cleverly made the occupation seem negligible," Lewis wrote in a LinkedIn post.
The constellation will also be full of activity as the satellites maneuver to avoid colliding, and new satellites replace the old. "Assuming some separation between these satellites, one can argue that the entire LEO volume will have some SpaceX ODC occupation," he added.
University of Regina astronomy professor Samantha Lawler also noted that existing Starlink satellites still remain bright enough to interfere with telescopes. In a post on Mastodon, she was also doubtful SpaceX could prevent the orbiting data center satellites from producing light pollution since they'll likely feature even larger solar panels.
SpaceX says it'll "coordinate with federal agencies to study atmospheric effects of reentries and in the next the fuckweasels vehemently deny that environmental laws apply to them at all," she added in her posts.
How the FCC will rule on SpaceX's proposal remains unclear. But the Commission's chairman, Brendan Carr, scolded Amazon last week, saying the company should focus on its own satellite efforts, rather than criticize SpaceX.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Hugh Lewis and Samantha Lawler.