Starlink and Satellite Megaconstellations Accused of Creating an Unregulated Climate Experiment
A new study is drawing a sharper line between the booming satellite economy and the atmosphere above it: the same launch wave powering Starlink missions is also pumping soot, metal oxides, and ozone-depleting chemistry into the upper air. And so far, nothing is regulating that.
Besides the finding that, collectively, satellite launches have suddenly become Earth's biggest polluters, the new study by researchers at University College London says that their pollution is unusually potent because it is released so high up. Black carbon from kerosene-fueled rockets can linger in the upper atmosphere for years, where it has a far stronger climate effect than soot emitted near the surface.
The study reported that megaconstellations already accounted for about 35% of the space sector’s climate impact in 2020 and could rise to 42% by 2029. By then, researchers estimate the space sector could be releasing roughly 870 tons of soot a year, which is close to the annual soot output of all passenger cars in the UK.
One reason the issue is getting attention is the pollution's possible (and odd) side effect: a slight cooling influence from sunlight being reflected or absorbed by the soot. Nonetheless, scientists warn against treating that as a benefit—the mechanism resembles geoengineering, except it is happening by accident, without consent, and without any real oversight. And once the momentum builds, i.e. when tens of thousands more satellites are in orbit, the waste stream becomes routine, not exceptional.
This study casts the light on the fact that satellite pollution and climate change are no longer separate problems. As the race to blanket the globe in high-speed internet intensifies, there's a greater call for solutions, such as immediate global cooperation to establish space emission standards and a transition to green fuels that can mitigate some launch-related carbon.
Main image credit: Starlink
