Data Centers in Space: Environmentalists Demand Halt to Orbital Projects

A group of environmental and scientific organizations operating in the USA has demanded that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) temporarily suspend the review of applications for creating orbital data centers. In an appeal filed through the non-profit organization Earthjustice, it is emphasized that a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact is necessary before launching massive satellite constellations into space. Experts believe such projects could cause irreversible damage to Earth's atmosphere and stratosphere. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports.

The coalition of environmentalists is relying on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), passed in 1969. This law requires federal agencies to study the impact of any major project on nature before making a decision. Currently, there are several projects aimed at deploying computing power in space, and there is concern that their cumulative impact could negatively affect the ozone layer, the quality of the night sky, and the chemical composition of the stratosphere.

Mega-projects in space and their scale

Orbital data center projects involve moving computing power directly into open space. Developers believe this will reduce the load on terrestrial data centers caused by the development of AI technologies. Earth-based centers require vast amounts of electricity, water, and land, whereas these problems are said to be solved naturally in space.

However, environmental organizations note that the scale of these projects is several times larger than previous satellite constellations. For example, SpaceX has presented plans to create up to one million orbital data centers. Additionally, companies such as Orbital, Starcloud, Blue Origin, and Cowboy Space are collectively considering the launch of about 260,000 more satellites.

According to Ian Hasselman, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, the FCC must respond to this petition within a reasonable timeframe. If the commission begins issuing licenses without meeting environmental legal requirements, the matter could be taken to court. So far, the FCC has not provided an official comment on this appeal.

Competition and regulatory issues

Currently, the regulatory body for orbital projects is under dual pressure. On one hand, environmentalists are demanding safety, while on the other, technology companies and industry organizations are asking to accelerate the review of applications. This is attributed to intensifying global competition in the space sector, particularly China's activity in this direction.

Nevertheless, the FCC has recently tightened some requirements for satellite operators. For example, the deadline for deorbiting low-orbit devices after completing their mission has been reduced from 25 years to 5 years. This serves to mitigate the problem of space debris, at least partially.

The demands put forward by environmentalists cover the following key areas:

• Studying chemical changes in the upper layers of the atmosphere;
• Preserving the ability to observe the starry sky and reducing light pollution;
• Assessing the cumulative impact of a large number of satellites;
• Analyzing space debris and the risk of it falling back to Earth.