A coalition of environmental and conservation groups has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission demanding a halt to licensing for orbital datacenter projects, warning that millions of satellites in low-Earth orbit could be catastrophic for the atmosphere.
Companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin have proposed launching large networks of orbital datacenters as an alternative to ground-based facilities that face growing opposition over energy and land use. But the petition, filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Earthjustice, and DarkSky International, argues the plans violate federal law by failing to account for environmental consequences.
The concerns center on pollution released during both launch and satellite disposal. Rockets emit black carbon, nitrogen oxides, aluminum oxide, and chlorine compounds. When decommissioned satellites burn up on re-entry after five to 15 years, they vaporize and release metals, rare elements, and other pollutants into the stratosphere, a region scientists are only beginning to understand.
“These same proponents have refused to embrace any inquiry into the impacts of their self-claimed epochal technology on the environment, science, economy, or other values,” the petition states.
Steve Volz, former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite office, told the Guardian that even if orbital datacenters prove technically feasible, which he doubted, the environmental risk would be significant.
“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,” Volz said.
The number of active satellites has grown from roughly 1,400 in 2015 to about 15,000 today, driven largely by broadband megaconstellations from Starlink and Amazon. As many as 100,000 satellites could be in orbit within the decade, with orbital datacenter proposals representing a potential leap beyond that.
Scientists warn that accumulating pollutants could damage the ozone layer, increase ultraviolet radiation exposure, and create widespread light pollution. The petition calls for a review and pause on new licenses until the impacts are properly studied.