WasteX

The number of satellites in low earth orbit has increased by 127 times in five years, led by SpaceX. The new space race is ramping up quickly: some estimate an additional 58,000 satellites launched
by 2030. Another 500,000 have been proposed in order to create new mega-constellations that power satellite internet. At peak, 29 tons of satellites will re-enter our atmosphere per day, nearly equivalent to a Jeep Cherokee entering our skies every hour. The rocket launches to maintain these mega-constellations will release soot in the atmosphere equivalent to 7 million diesel dump trucks circling the globe, each year.

Photo by Statista | Used by permission

The environmental harms of launching and burning up so many satellites aren’t clear. That’s because the federal government hasn’t conducted an environmental review to understand the impacts. What we do know is that more satellites and more launches lead to more damaging gasses and metals in our atmosphere. We shouldn’t rush forward with launching satellites at this scale without making sure the benefits justify the potential consequences of mega-constellations.
This is a new frontier, and we could save ourselves a lot of trouble by making sure we move forward in a way that doesn’t cause major problems in the future.

For the history of the space industry, environmental harms haven’t been a serious concern because of the small number of operators, mostly governments and researchers, with few satellites and
launches. These non-commercial players were never held to strict government regulations because the low frequency of launches was assumed to have minimal impact at a global scale.