The FCC Chairman's proposal to replacing current space operations licensing from what he derides as a "default-to-no" system to a "default-to-yes framework" risks reckless actions in space. It caters to powerful corporations and does not serve the public interest. spacenews.com/fcc-launches...

"California-based Reflect Orbital recently requested a license from the FCC to launch a demonstration satellite in 2026. While its mission is to extend the operating hours of solar farms, astronomers say doing so will come at the expense of their research." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Space continues to fill quickly: "SpaceX has filed with the FCC asking to launch 15,000 new satellites for direct-to-device service. The filing does not share many specifics about the range of services that would be supported by this constellation." www.satellitetoday.com/connectivity...

"An executive order signed last month to streamline rocket launches has been celebrated by officials in the commercial space sector. But it’s also causing a wave of alarm – from scientists, environmental activists and astronomers." www.theguardian.com/science/2025... #SpaceEnvironment

"Back in 2022, the FCC set regulations requiring satellites operating in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to deorbit within five years of completing their mission, in order to reduce collisions and #SpaceDebris. Now, Amazon wants to see that rule scrapped." www.lightreading.com/satellite/am...

"Bright communication satellites in low-Earth orbit are beginning to interfere with astronomical observing. Soon, a new type of satellite will intentionally beam sunlight to Earth’s surface at night." skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne... #Space #SpaceEnvironment

"The decision to pursue space-based weapons marks a significant departure from previous U.S. military policy. For decades, placing weapons in orbit was considered a provocative act, potentially triggering a new arms race in space." visegradpost.com/en/2025/09/0... #Space #SpaceWarfare

Earlier this week CSE provided on-record comments to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration at a virtual public meeting on the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy Launch Vehicle at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A Environmental Impact Statement. www.spaceenvironmentalism.org/actions/publ...

"The European Union will deploy additional satellites in low Earth orbit to strengthen resilience against GPS interferences and will improve capabilities to detect it, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Monday." www.reuters.com/business/aer... #Space #SpaceEnvironment #Defence

"The contemporary LEO boom, far from being a rising tide that lifts all boats, is paradoxically leading to the consolidation of control over the most fundamental resources of spaceflight." www.thespacereview.com/article/5044/1 #Space #SpaceEnvironment

The Trump Administration's recent executive order loosening regulatory oversight of U.S. space launch facilities led us to issue our first public position. Read our position and the evidence that supports it here: www.spaceenvironmentalism.org/actions/posi... #SpaceEnvironment #NEPA #Environment

"President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order with the purpose of enabling commercial space companies by reducing or removing environmental and other regulations. However, ... removing regulations could prove an environmental disaster." www.iflscience.com/trumps-execu... #SpaceEnvironment

"Whatever nation or entity gets there first will likely establish what the directive calls a 'keep-out zone' for safety and security. These zones, which may cover a few square miles, would prevent competitors from entering the same space." www.wired.com/story/why-th...

Statements during the press conference on the NASA plans to place a nuclear reactor on the Moon imply a potential U.S. territorial/property claim, which would appear to violate the Outer Space Treaty. nasawatch.com/artemis/lets...

"SpaceX just conducted a giant uncontrolled experiment in atmospheric chemistry. Earlier this year, analysts noticed Starlink satellites were falling out of the sky. What’s going on? In short: routine housecleaning. What’s not usual is the atmospheric fallout." spaceweather.com/archive.php?...

The "21st-century space race, while a boon for communications and Earth monitoring, is sending up a red flag with experts, who warn that the tech advances satellite may bring are linked to a growing number of Earth environmental impacts.” news.mongabay.com/2025/07/comm...

"Both Russia and Ukraine are broadcasting powerful signals to interfere with guidance systems for precision weapons and drones. But that jamming 'is bleeding up into the space environment and impacting satellites.'" www.airandspaceforces.com/gps-jamming-...

"A draft executive order being circulated among federal agencies, and viewed by ProPublica, directs Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to 'use all available authorities to eliminate or expedite' environmental reviews for launch licenses.” www.propublica.org/article/trum...

"As we increase the amount of space traffic, especially smaller objects [like cubesats] we end up with a very crowded and difficult situation for traditional purveyors of [Space Situational Awareness].” www.airandspaceforces.com/space-traffi... #SpaceEnvironment

"The hundreds of miles of ocean that surround ... [the] Hawaiian islands are now under threat. ... Once #SpaceX ramps up launches, bird and sea life could face hazardous material spills, falling objects and sonic booms.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2... #SpaceEnvironment #Environment #Hawaii

Thanks to / gracias a @climatica.coop for publishing this story in Spanish about CSE whose title translates to "Space is also an environment (and this association wants to protect it)". climatica.coop/espacio-tamb... #SpaceEnvironment

"The methodology presented is applied to study the impact of a collision for a Japanese H-2A upper stage. Using NASA’s risk rate model, such a collision could result in a cost of $555M to LEO operators over the following 10 years." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #SpaceEnvironment

"A one-dimensional hierarchy of moral value misses the interconnected webs of nature’s generative forces. In the case of space exploration, it misses the important possibility that inanimate entities and extraterrestrial systems can have tremendous moral value." www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"U.S. intelligence officials last year said they believed Russia was pursuing a project to place a nuclear weapon in space. The detonation of a nuclear bomb in orbit could muck up the space environment for years, indiscriminately disabling countless satellites." arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

"The #SpaceForce has had the de facto mission to manage space traffic for decades; if TracCSS goes away now, that mission will fall back to the Space Force at a time when the service’s military mission is already growing." www.airandspaceforces.com/space-force-... #SpaceEnvironment #SpaceDebris

"Hundreds of U.S. companies on Tuesday urged Congress to back off a plan to kill a small federal office tasked with managing satellite traffic in space, a badly needed civilian effort initiated by President Trump's first administration but now imperiled by cuts." www.reuters.com/business/aer...

"Astronomical interference is not as important a problem as climate change, ... but the root cause is the same—uncontrolled growth and displacement of the true costs. Why do we need twice as many satellites every year and a half? It's asking for trouble." www.science.org/doi/full/10....

"'We need to have fewer satellites with longer operational lifetimes. Anything that you can do to make your satellites last longer and to use fewer of them—that is the engineering challenge that we are now facing, and I don’t see anyone really taking that up.'" www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

"As space junk increases, more operators are choosing to launch without any insurance at all. Behind the predicament are two vectors moving in opposite directions: The cost of launching satellites is falling, while the cost of insuring them continues to soar.” www.space.com/space-explor...

"The international space industry is on a growth trajectory, but new research shows a rapid increase in rocket launches would damage the ozone layer. Our findings show that once rates reach 2,000 launches a year the current healing of the ozone layer slows down.” theconversation.com/a-10-fold-in...

"'Leaving those rocket bodies at 700-800 km altitude is incredibly irresponsible. China is just beginning to launch its very large constellations so there is time to fix this before it becomes a grave danger.'” spacenews.com/chinas-megac... #Space #SpaceDebris #SpaceEnvironment

From an op-ed in @livescience.com by CSE's own @sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy: "We cannot have tens of thousands of satellites in LEO without severe consequences for the atmosphere and an increasingly high likelihood of Kessler Syndrome." www.livescience.com/space/astron... #Space

"Invisible radiation leaking out of private satellites is disrupting radio astronomers' ability to detect important signals from across the universe. If left unchecked, we could reach an 'inflection point' beyond which we can no longer properly study the cosmos." www.livescience.com/space/astron...

"Increased eruptions from the sun can create geomagnetic storms that heat our planet’s atmosphere, causing it to swell outwards in size and increasing drag on satellites. This effect is only becoming apparent now because of a boom in satellite launches.” www.newscientist.com/article/2481...

"Crucial research into the effects of rocket and satellite air pollution on Earth's atmosphere is reportedly being cut as part of Donald Trump administration's cuts to climate science budgets." www.space.com/space-explor...

"The increasing accumulation of artificial space debris is introducing a new form of light pollution, which is progressively impacting night sky brightness and observational conditions for professional astronomy." academic.oup.com/mnrasl/advan... #SpaceEnvironment

"The Monroe Doctrine belongs in the 19th century. A 21st-century world calls for a more thoughtful planetary stance, one where politics, technoscience and governance maintain their balance for the sake of all humans and fellow living creatures." www.noemamag.com/the-new-plan... #SpaceEnvironment

"The Fermi orbit at a 500x512 km altitude is subject to collision warnings due to new constellations deployed near Fermi. This paper presents analysis concerning changing Fermi's orbit and associated operational flight dynamics considerations." arxiv.org/abs/2505.15732 #Space #SpaceEnvironment

"U.S. officials are turning their attention to a pressing problem in space. As part of our Cyber Monday series with the Click Here Podcast, we take a look at the problem of space debris.” the1a.org/segments/cyb... #Space #SpaceEnvironment #SpaceDebris

"Researchers project that active satellites could skyrocket to 1,00,000 before stabilising, a threshold considered the 'carrying capacity' of the LEO. This limit, where collision risks become significant, could be reached by 2050 at current launch rates.” in.mashable.com/science/9435...

"Space is being commercialised on a scale unseen before. Faced by powerful commercial and political forces and with scant legal protections, artefacts that tell the story of our species' journey into space are in danger of being lost." www.bbc.com/future/artic... #Space #History

"British officials told the U.S. they are concerned about the safety of SpaceX’s plans to fly its next Starship rocket over British territories in the Caribbean, where debris fell earlier this year after two of the company’s rockets exploded.” www.propublica.org/article/spac...

Some of the satellites in the Chinese Qianfan constellation are evidently tumbling out of control in orbit. "All six of the tumbling #spacecraft are from Launch 2. @planet4589.bsky.social indicates that all the tumbling spacecraft have failed." arxiv.org/abs/2505.07194

This legislation would establish "a comprehensive legal framework in India to address the growing issue of space debris" and "a mechanism for claiming and receiving compensation through the establishment of a dedicated Space Debris Compensation Tribunal." legalserviceindia.com/legal/articl...

The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Legal Subcommittee released an "Initial draft set of recommended principles for space resource activities" that appears to endorse actively protecting the space environment under terms of the Outer Space Treaty: documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ge...

"'When you think about how to make the Earth sustainable, you think about what you do with your garbage, your sewage, your smoke,' Hadfield said. He said that the 'Earth and space aren’t different' any more than a room was different from what lies outside the door.” www.thetimes.com/article/cc5e...

"The returned mass from human-made orbital objects has increased considerably in recent years, and the mass subject to destructive breakup in the upper atmosphere currently exceeds 600 metric tons per year." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The re-entry of Kosmos 482 "draws attention to our planet's growing space junk problem. On average, three sizeable pieces of debris crash back to Earth every day — and that number is only going to go up.” www.space.com/space-explor... #Space #SpaceEnvironment #SpaceDebris

"'It’s stuff between one centimeter and 10 that we’re really worried about because we can’t see that stuff. I’m worried about astronauts. They’re exposed when they’re doing their spacewalks, and a piece of debris that size can go right through them.'" www.independent.co.uk/space/satell...

"The evolution of the service requires a shift from systems designed for a peaceful space environment to those built for resilience and effectiveness against emerging threats." www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article...