Astronomers and other reliable sources continue to warn of similar satellites and spacecraft, creating dangerous situations on Earth and in space.
Regardless, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to approve tens of thousands of satellites being launched into orbit, anyway.
Now, a new article suggests that the agency may have violated the environmental law by approving the Starlink Mega Constellation from SpaceX (which includes up to 42,000 spaceships) and that if someone sues them, that person could win the case.
Published in Scientific American:
A battle for the sky is taking place, and the skies are losing. The next mega satellite constellations, designed to cover Earth’s orbit in spaceships that transmit high-speed Internet around the world, could fill the firmament with tens of thousands of moving light points, forever changing our view of the cosmos. .
Astronomers who depend on pristine skies for their profession and members of the general public who appreciate the natural beauty of what is above, may lose out. The launch of such a large number of satellites “has the potential to change our relationship and our connection with the universe,” says Ruskin Hartley, CEO of International Dark-Sky Association, non profit organization.
But without binding international laws or regulations in place to protect the night sky, anyone who opposes the advancing mega constellations is certainly fighting a losing battle. Right?
Wrong.
A new article to be published later this year in Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law argues that the Federal Communications Commission – the agency responsible for licensing the operation of these constellations in the United States – should consider the impact that these satellites would have on the night sky.
By ignoring an essential part of federal environmental legislation, the FCC could be prosecuted – and lose – potentially interrupting new releases of mega constellations until an appropriate review is carried out.
The FCC must protect the public by regulating the telecommunications sector. At the moment, they are facing many lawsuits for failing to do so in connection with the forced installation of unsafe 5G technology. Hopefully someone will sue them for approving those satellites too.