Why satellite Internet access is more polluting than terrestrial alternatives

For several years now, constellations of low Earth orbit satellites have been growing overhead. These thousands of satellites are designed to provide Internet access to isolated populations, covering virtually the entire surface of the globe.

SpaceX’s Starlink (over 4,000 satellites already in orbit), Amazon’s Kuiper (over 3,000) and OneWeb (over 600) are just a few examples of providers working in the field. However, this way of delivering connectivity appears to be far more polluting than traditional terrestrial alternatives.

The activity of these satellites has many negative impacts on the environment, not least because of the fuel burned by the rockets used to launch them, and the resulting emissions. A study carried out by astrophysicists in the UK and the US reports that, in all scenarios, over the next five years, CO2 emissions per subscriber will be 31 to 91 times greater than those generated by equivalent terrestrial mobile broadband, according to all the hypotheses studied.

It goes without saying that the most powerful solution for reducing this pollution would be to make strategic choices in the design of rockets and the fuel they carry. This is especially significant since most of the programs studied aim to launch thousands more satellites in the very near future.

More sustainable technologies therefore need to be developed, both in the design of rockets and satellites, and in the composition of the fuel they carry.

At present, these satellite constellations are a cause for concern for the environment, and the more satellites are deployed, the more harmful they will be. They are, for example, a source of space pollution.

Each satellite has a life expectancy of just a few years, as they can neither be recovered nor recycled. At the end of their life, they will either disintegrate as they fall back into the atmosphere, or wander endlessly in orbit – not to mention the need to replace them with new, operational satellites. So much waste and potential space debris can cause major damage. For example, the repeated destruction of satellites could create new holes in the ozone layer, due to gases emanating from the combustion of the aluminium contained in these devices.

Another challenge is to limit the presence of this waste in space. With this in mind, several projects have already been announced, with ideas such as sending a satellite to retrieve several others before exploding them on re-entry into the atmosphere. Another solution would be to launch a kind of refueling service for satellites in orbit. – AFP Relaxnews