Free Deep Dive Webinar on Space Commerce With Emphasis on Orbiting Data Centers

 

Dear Colleagues: Only a few days remain to register for our next webinar: Developments in Satellite Technology and the Future of Space Regulation. This not-to-be-missed event will take place on April 30. Start time is 07:30 MDT, 09:30 EDT, 15:30 CET, and 22:30 JST/KST. In this webinar, Rob Frieden, Academy and Emeritus Professor of Telecommunications and Law at Penn State University will explore the international and domestic policies shaping space law and examine how emerging frameworks are enabling today’s most exciting developments. He will discuss how regulations can support next-generation LEO/MEO applications and share insights into the rapid evolution of the commercial space sector. This online event is scheduled for one hour, with 30 minutes dedicated to Professor Frieden's presentation and 30 minutes to Q&A with participants.  Please submit questions in advance here. Complimentary registration, as well as additional details about this webinar, are available at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/developments-in-satellite-technology-and-the-future-of-space-regulation-tickets-1986355322240?aff=oddtdtcreator Please sign-up today before it's too late.

 

What If Moving Fast Results in Unrepairable, Broken Things Like Inner Space and Earth’s Upper Atmosphere?

             Until 2014, Facebook’s official mantra was “move fast and break things” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Move_fast_and_break_things. Mark Zuckerberg coined the phrase https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/move-fast-break-things-facebook-motto/; to emphasize the need for speedy, first mover advantages, even if such initiatives result in harmful outcomes.  Apparently, his undoubtably biased cost/benefit analysis generated a net positive outcome, presumably for Facebook and everyone else.

            Maybe not. See, e.g., https://hbr.org/2019/01/the-era-of-move-fast-and-break-things-is-over; https://leaddev.com/velocity/why-you-shouldnt-move-fast-and-break-things.

            The lack of guard rails, of any sort, invariably results in knowable and unknowable calamities, that individually and collectively change the value proposition, particularly for non-investors.

            Just now, scientists are determining, without doubt, that low earth orbiting satellite constellations, like Starlink, have a real, quantifiable, and harmful impact on space and earth atmosphere.  See: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-reentry-pollution-damage-earth-atmosphere;

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/03/05/satellites-are-polluting-the-stratosphere;

https://www.businesstoday.in/visualstories/news/starlink-killing-atmosphere-the-environmental-threat-to-earth-elon-musk-isnt-talking-about-214537-06-03-2025;

https://www.science.org/content/article/burned-satellites-are-polluting-atmosphere;

https://pirg.org/edfund/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PIRG-Satellite-Letter-to-FCC-from-100-researchers.pdf;

https://abcnews.go.com/US/musks-starlink-polluting-space-researchers-call-fcc-pause/story?id=115276437

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/satellite-space-junk-havoc-stratosphere.

            Low earth orbiting satellites, like those operated by Starlink, are smaller and lighter than prior generations of telecommunications space craft.  However, operators must launch thousands of them to achieve global coverage.  Their close proximity to earth and constant motion, relative to earth, require frequent launches to replace failing and end of life units.

            The toxification of space and earth atmosphere occurs when launching satellites and when they fall out of orbit on a downward trajectory toward earth, typically after only five years of service.  Satellite launches release massive amounts of fumes, such as sulfuric acid, into earth’s atmosphere.  Individual satellite vaporization releases a far smaller volume of metallic vapors, particles, and aerosols, but the numbers add up in light of the number of spacecraft replacing or augmenting the constellation, as well as units no longer in service.  Each first generation Starlink satellite releases approximately 30 kilograms of material in its descent.  Second generation satellites are larger and accordingly will release a larger amount of particles.

            The composition of vaporizing satellites and other spacecraft includes aluminum oxide and trace minerals that are classified as pollutants:

Letting these satellites burn up in the atmosphere at the end of their lives helps keep the quantity of space junk to a minimum. But doing so deposits satellite ash in the middle layers of Earth’s atmosphere. This metallic ash can harm the atmosphere and potentially alter the climate. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/09/1108076/satellite-reentry-atmospheric-pollution/. See https://research.noaa.gov/noaa-scientists-link-exotic-metal-particles-in-the-upper-atmosphere-to-rockets-satellites/; https://research.noaa.gov/projected-increase-in-space-travel-may-damage-ozone-layer/

           It should come as no surprise that Starlink, and their sponsored researchers and opinion leaders, seek limited, if any, governmental oversight and regulation of space activities.  The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 Chapter on the FCC, written by the newly appointed Chairman, Brendan Carr, https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf Chapter 28, 845-859, recommends a most friendly regulatory environment, including expedited processing of satellite launch applications. The Heritage Foundation previously advocated for the elimination of environmental impact assessment of space activities.  See https://www.heritage.org/government-regulation/report/keep-environmental-red-tape-out-outer-space.

            Elon Musk, has singularly advantageous opportunity to influence governmental space policy in ways that favor his ventures. In a prior blog entry, I predicted that SpaceX soon will qualify for broadband universal service subsidies worth billions.  See https://telefrieden.blogspot.com/2025/02/add-millions-more-to-musk-account.html.

            Today, I predict that at some future date, measurable, costly toxification of space and earth atmosphere will be caused by known stakeholders who succeeded in foreclosing research, harm assessment, and conservation. They probably will not even incur the cost in the determination whether and how remediation is possible.

            Thank Elon Musk for his service to our nation.

Add Millions More to the Musk Account

           A Feb. 11th New York Times article missed a sizeable subsidy from the Federal Communications Commission that will add millions of dollars more to subsidies flowing to Elon Musk’s commercial ventures.  See (Elon Musk’s Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up; https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/elon-musk-companies-conflicts.html.

            Under new leadership, the FCC will reverse a prior determination that Starlink, does qualify for universal service funding, because the low earth orbiting network has substantially higher cost of service compared to terrestrial options, and it does not meet baseline requirements on data speed and reliability. This means Mr. Musk's Starlink venture will qualify for over $800 million in subsidies aiming to bridge the Digital Divide.  

            Consistent with FCC Chairman Carr's game plan, set out in the Heritage Foundation Project 2025, https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf, the FCC will exempt Starlink from essential environmental regulations. When launching thousands of satellites, Starlink significantly adds toxic gas into the atmosphere.  These satellites have a short operational life and their descent back to earth releases more toxicity from the incomplete vaporization of aluminum and other particles.