A coalition of environmental and scientific groups has called on American regulators to pause and properly examine ambitious plans for data centres in orbit before licensing moves forward. The petition, filed on 8 July, argues that the scale of these projects demands independent scrutiny rather than piecemeal approvals that overlook their combined effects on the planet we all share.
The filing asks the Federal Communications Commission to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. This would evaluate the cumulative risks, alternatives, genuine needs, costs and impacts of the proposed constellations before any further licences are granted. Until that review is complete, the groups want new approvals paused.
Among the organisations behind the petition are DarkSky International, Environment America, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Earthjustice. Their submission, made under the Administrative Procedure Act, draws on supporting studies that map out the potential damage.
The scale of the proposals
Companies including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Starcloud and Cowboy Space have put forward plans that together would place well over one million satellites in low Earth orbit. The numbers are stark: up to one million from SpaceX alone, 88,000 from Starcloud, 51,600 from Blue Origin and 20,000 from Cowboy Space.
To put this in context, the number of active satellites has already risen sharply, from around 1,400 in 2015 to approximately 15,000 in 2026. Projections suggest as many as 100,000 within a decade even without these data-centre fleets. The leap now under discussion would dwarf that growth and lock in consequences for decades.
What is at stake
The petition highlights a range of environmental risks that are too often treated as secondary to the rush for technological expansion. Increased light pollution would alter the night sky, disrupting astronomy, wildlife behaviour and human health. Rocket launches and satellite re-entries would inject black carbon, alumina, nitrogen oxides and metals into the atmosphere, with possible effects on the ozone layer, contributions to climate change and a higher chance of space debris.