Space Odysseys face a murky threat
Are mindless competition in satellite odysseys by private companies and countries leaving a dangerous footprint in space? No, not just the space junks; there is a much greater and graver implication than the junks which has become the latest headache of the space researchers gazing into the sky and beyond.
We all are familiar with polluting elements in space – the mass of lithium, aluminium, copper, and lead besides other metals from spacecraft’s re-entry has far exceeded those metals found in natural cosmic dust. However, a new threat, of course man-made, has emerged which has increasingly been seizing the gaze of the entire gamut of space scientists across the world.
What is the latest threat other than the space junks we commonly know of? A huge mass of electromagnetic radiation termed as chunks of radio waves getting emitted from the present generation V2 Starlink satellites is contributing to a kind of unheard of space pollution, leaving the community of the ground-based space scientists in a fix.
Successive waves of this radiation have been intensely blocking the view of the universe and very soon, we may not be able to peer at the universe to get as distinct and transparent views of the universe, galaxies, exoplanets, supernova etc. from the earth as we used to receive earlier, the scientists apprehend.
In fact, interference and interception of radio telescopes by the second generation or V2 satellites are found to be 32 times stronger than the first generation. And the new batch of satellites proposed to be rolled out from the Starlink stable and its other competitors like OneWeb and Amazon could further complicate the problem, they fear.
According to Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) director Professor Jessica Dempsey, the satellite radiation has been increasingly affecting the work of peering into the universe and adversely impacting new space discoveries.
Now the question is How?
Many objects including constellations of stars and distant galaxies besides planets in space emit light on the electromagnetic spectrum. This radiation of light, often described as jets, travels like waves and radio telescopes pick up on those waves enabling us to see and analyse them which we can’t do with our naked eyes.
But hundreds and thousands of V2 satellites currently orbiting at 342 miles (550 km) above the earth have been blocking the path of this light because they have been emitting electromagnetic radiation. And the latter has been causing immense distraction of the images that the space scientists meticulously cull after hours and hours of pain-staking gaze through the space observatories.
The next question is Why?
Because, this electromagnetic radiation is about 10 million times brighter than the weakest sources of light that the scientists have so far identified. The more the light pollution from the satellites, the less will be the success rate of the optical telescopes based on earth. Major radio observatories located around the earth will be compelled to compromise their findings which will indeed, be disastrous.
And to make matters even worse, SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk is launching about 40 second-generation Starlink satellites every week.
“We look at some of the earliest galaxies, millions and millions of light years away, as well as exoplanets,” Prof Dempsey told the BBC.
Cees Bassa, one of the leading authors in the science journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, pointed out that it was like comparing the “faintest stars visible to the naked eye and the brightness of the full Moon.”
The Space Age, the scientists have already pointed out quite long ago, has begun releasing human-made materials in what we consider a pristine area of the atmosphere and the mass of metal (as listed earlier) is fast changing the atmospheric chemistry, triggering massive climate change in earth.
However, Mr Musk and the direct beneficiaries of Starlink satellites have a strong point which cannot be completely ignored. These satellites are so technologically advanced that they can provide smooth and near-perfect broadband internet around the world, especially to such remote and challenging environments as Ukraine, Yemen and even deep inside the Amazon forests.
A BBC report quoting the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport states that in 2022 tests revealed that Starlink could deliver internet speeds four times faster than the average. But they often come at a cost.
“Every time more of these are launched with these kinds of emission levels, we see less and less of the sky,” rued Prof Dempsey. Already, astronomers have discovered the largest known black hole jets, stretching an astonishing 23 million light-years. To put it in perspective, that is exactly the length of 140 Milky Way galaxies aligned end-to-end.
Musk’s network of satellites, it is open knowledge, has been fast growing and he is obviously the largest private provider of this service, excellent though.
According to a rough estimate, 6402 Starlink Satellites — each equipped with 3m flat panels and an 8m solar array for power – are currently up in space. OneWeb, Starlink’s nearest competitor, has little less than 1,000 while Amazon, the newest entrant in the arena, would be launching around 3,000 in the next few years!!!
Now, add the large number of spy satellites already deployed by several countries around the world to this and the figure would, indeed, be quite worrying for the scientists. Because, by end-2030, the total number of such satellites could touch not less than 100,000, says a rough estimate.
According to unverified reports, the latest blitzkrieg of explosions of pagers, walkie-talkies and hand-held radios at Lebanon and parts of Syria that left thousands injured, several of them grievously and believed to have been remotely executed by Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, is a combined handiwork of spy satellites, AI and other hi-fi devices.
Hence, it would be difficult to persuade Mr Musk or countries using those secret satellites to desist from launching them. The BBC report specifically mentions that Starlink has so far refused to reply to its queries.
So, the ground-based astronomy is in peril; if no mitigating measures are immediately taken to reduce this emission of light, the seriousness with which space research is being conducted around the world, will certainly lose its sheen.
(Based on NASA and BBC News Reports)
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