Satellites are clogging up the sky and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US wants to urge firms that use satellites, to deorbit them sooner.
This follows a proposal submitted by FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week, who outlined how outdated the rules regarding satellites were.
“Today it is the recommended practice for satellite operators to deorbit their spacecraft within 25 years of completing their missions. But there is no reason to wait that long anymore. Our space economy is moving fast. For it to continue to grow, we need to do more to clean up after ourselves so space innovation can continue to expand,” wrote Rosenworcel.
The chairwoman has proposed that satellites be deorbited as soon as possible once their mission has been completed, but no later than five years after the mission ends.
These rules would apply to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites below the 2 000km mark. The commission will also assess whether large constellations of satellites would need to be deorbited within one year, but this would be dependent on a variety of factors including debris mitigation rules.
The recent surge in popularity of satellite internet brought about by Starlink has raised concerns about our view of the cosmos. Astronomers, engineers and commercial satellite operators are concerned that the growing number of satellites could block our view of space.
“These constellations could have serious negative consequences for many research programs at the world’s premier optical observatories. Depending on their altitude and brightness, constellation satellites could also spoil starry nights for amateur astronomers, astrophotographers, and other nature enthusiasts,” reads a report from the Satellite Constellations 1 workshop held in 2020.
One potential solution to this problem is a configurable satellite. The Eutelsat Quantum for instance can be reconfigured from Earth, giving it more longevity than typical satellites.
While the FCC speaks on behalf of the US, these rules regarding decommissioning of satellites would also apply to businesses that wish to access the US market as reported by Engadget.
As mentioned this is still a proposal, but we wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing similar proposals presented around the world.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
