Overview
- Recent Falcon 9 launches on March 17 and 19 added dozens of spacecraft, pushing active Starlink satellites past 10,000, according to counts compiled by Jonathan McDowell.
- SpaceX’s January filing seeks approval for up to one million satellites designed as in‑orbit data centers, with the FCC opening a public comment window within days of the application.
- FCC chair Brendan Carr publicly invited comments, with filings through March 6 including thousands of responses and a formal objection from Amazon, a competing constellation operator.
- Astronomers warn that the proposed high‑inclination data‑center orbits could remain sunlit through local midnight, intensifying streaks in images despite earlier Starlink brightness mitigations, and a consortium has challenged the filing.
- Researchers highlight rising environmental and safety concerns, noting one to two Starlink reentries per day today, projected increases in alumina and other metals in the middle atmosphere by the 2030s, and elevated collision‑cascade risk in low Earth orbit.