Jonathan O’Callaghan in New Scientist:
We are only a month into 2026, yet it’s already clear what one of the major space stories of the year is going to be: mega-constellations, and the ongoing attempts to launch thousands of satellites into Earth’s orbit.
The latest development is that SpaceX has asked the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to launch 1 million orbital data centre satellites. The request is unprecedented. The previous largest filing with the FCC, also by SpaceX, was for 42,000 Starlink satellites in 2019.
“This is beyond what’s been proposed by any constellation,” says Victoria Samson at the Secure World Foundation in the US.
SpaceX already operates the largest fleet of satellites in orbit, the Starlink internet constellation, which makes up about 9500 of the 14,500 satellites in orbit – but the fleet represents just 1 per cent of SpaceX’s planned orbital data centre satellites. Those Starlink satellites alone are already making conditions in orbit hazardous, with SpaceX having to dodge 300,000 collisions in 2025.
More here.
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