SpaceX Gets ‘Partial’ FCC Approval to Deploy Second-Generation Starlink Satellites
- by Gizmodo
- Jun 17, 2024
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Related: Elon Musk’s Starlink Is Causing More Streaks to Appear in Space Images
A number of “significant issues” were raised as a result of the SpaceX application, the FCC said, including “orbital debris mitigation and space safety,” the “protection of science missions,” “potential atmospheric effects from launches and satellite reentries, “potential effects on astronomy and night sky observation,” and the protection of geostationary satellites from “harmful interference.”
In its order, the FCC reiterated concerns
raised by British astronomer Andy Lawrence and the team at the Vera Rubin Observatory where he works. As Lawrence pointed out to the FCC, the SpaceX application makes no mention of how bright the Gen2 Starlink satellites might be, while providing “no evidence that SpaceX’s proposed mitigations will in fact lessen the impact on astronomers,” the regulator said.
Accordingly, SpaceX must comply with a number of conditions set forth by the FCC. For example, the company must collaborate with NASA to minimize the megaconstellation’s impact on science missions and work with the National Science Foundation to mitigate risks to ground-based astronomy.
Interestingly, the FCC was persuaded by an idea proposed by LeoLabs
, a private company that tracks satellites and space junk in low Earth orbit. A stipulation in the order limits to 100 the number of “object years” of failed Gen2 Starlinks. An earlier FCC order requires satellite operators to deorbit satellites within five years of their demise
; a satellite that suddenly dies, therefore, has a total of five object years. The FCC says that, in the event SpaceX accumulates a total of 100 concurrent object years for dead Gen2 satellites, the company will be prohibited from launching any more until the situation is addressed and dealt with.
“The metric of 100 object years LeoLabs proposes provides a useful benchmark, if triggered, for pausing deployment and reassessing spacecraft reliability,” the FCC said. “We recognize that this metric is, as SpaceX observes, new and untested, but we believe an incremental approach based on a clear benchmark is appropriate in the context of a planned deployment that is at a scale not previously undertaken and also untested.”
The partial order doesn’t mean that SpaceX won’t ever be allowed to launch the remaining 75% of its Gen2 satellites. The order appears to be the FCC’s way of buying some time as it evaluates the ways in which megaconstellations can mess things up and to figure out the best ways of regulating this emerging technology. Moreover, what the FCC is asking SpaceX to do is not unreasonable and is, in my opinion, quite necessary.
SpaceX might not love this approach, but I think it’s smart, and I’m relieved to see the FCC is finally chomping down hard on these issues. It’s still the wild west when it comes to regulating space, but the FCC, it would appear, is trying to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape that is the spaceflight industry.
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