Environmental groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) to pause the approval of licenses for orbital datacenters , citing concerns over the environmental impact of proposed satellite constellations Earthjustice , representing DarkSky International Environment America , and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), filed a petition urging the FCC to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) before moving forward with any pending applications.The petition does not target any specific company but seeks to halt the entire emerging orbital datacenter sector while assessing the cumulative effects of proposals from companies like SpaceX, Starcloud, Blue Origin, and Cowboy Space.Collectively, these proposals aim to deploy over a million datacenter satellites in low Earth orbit, which would drastically increase the number of satellites currently in orbit.The filing states, "The FCC is currently considering multiple requests for licensing extraordinary numbers of satellite-based datacenters to be placed into low-earth orbit over the next decade.
"The groups argue that the FCC is applying licensing rules designed for smaller satellite constellations to a new class of infrastructure that poses unique environmental challenges.The petition highlights various concerns, including rocket launch emissions, pollutants from satellites during atmospheric reentry, ozone layer depletion, orbital debris, light pollution, impacts on wildlife, and interference with astronomical observations.It emphasizes that the combined effects of these constellations cannot be adequately understood by evaluating applications individually.The groups assert that the FCC's current approach, which generally categorizes satellite licenses as exempt from detailed environmental review, is no longer suitable given the scale of these proposals.They argue that a single review would allow the agency to examine the risks, alternatives, needs, costs, and impacts of this significant transformation of Earth's exosphere.The petition arrives as the FCC is re-evaluating its environmental review rules for satellites, acknowledging that the rapid growth of the space industry has raised new questions about the application of its existing framework.If the FCC agrees to the petition, orbital datacenter operators may face extensive regulatory hurdles before launching their hardware into space.
Environmental groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) to pause the approval of licenses for orbital datacenters , citing concerns over the environmental impact of proposed satellite constellations Earthjustice , representing DarkSky International Environment America , and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), filed a petition urging the FCC to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) before moving forward with any pending applications.The petition does not target any specific company but seeks to halt the entire emerging orbital datacenter sector while assessing the cumulative effects of proposals from companies like SpaceX, Starcloud, Blue Origin, and Cowboy Space.Collectively, these proposals aim to deploy over a million datacenter satellites in low Earth orbit, which would drastically increase the number of satellites currently in orbit.The filing states, "The FCC is currently considering multiple requests for licensing extraordinary numbers of satellite-based datacenters to be placed into low-earth orbit over the next decade."The groups argue that the FCC is applying licensing rules designed for smaller satellite constellations to a new class of infrastructure that poses unique environmental challenges.The petition highlights various concerns, including rocket launch emissions, pollutants from satellites during atmospheric reentry, ozone layer depletion, orbital debris, light pollution, impacts on wildlife, and interference with astronomical observations.It emphasizes that the combined effects of these constellations cannot be adequately understood by evaluating applications individually.The groups assert that the FCC's current approach, which generally categorizes satellite licenses as exempt from detailed environmental review, is no longer suitable given the scale of these proposals.They argue that a single review would allow the agency to examine the risks, alternatives, needs, costs, and impacts of this significant transformation of Earth's exosphere.The petition arrives as the FCC is re-evaluating its environmental review rules for satellites, acknowledging that the rapid growth of the space industry has raised new questions about the application of its existing framework.If the FCC agrees to the petition, orbital datacenter operators may face extensive regulatory hurdles before launching their hardware into space.
