SpaceNewsChina targets 140 launches in 2026 amid commercial space surge
Francesca Bo."Astronomy educates the public; astronomy trains a data- and technology-centred workforce; astronomy supports other sciences, providing a laboratory to physicists and a chance to investigate other worlds to biologists and geologists; astronomy inspires curiosity and art and interest in science; astronomy involves big projects; astronomy gets people out into nature; astronomy is an international field, with global collegiality; astronomy adds to the repository of human knowledge. These are the aspects of astronomy that we should be regularly reminding our elected representatives about."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02830-9
#astronomy #astrophysics #LightPollution #satellite #megaconstellations #spaceX #ReflectOrbital #billionaires
Hyperscalers are coming to an orbit near you. Power will decide the winners.
China designates space sector an “emerging pillar industry,” sets deep space ambitions in new economic blueprint
Santiago 
@sundogplanets probably you already knew this but i just came across this thanks to a colleague of mine that sent me tho link. Amazon satellites are pretty bright --> https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.07708
Abstract: "The mean apparent magnitude of Amazon Leo satellites is 6.28 based on 1,938 observations. For spacecraft in their operational mode, 92% exceeded the brightness limit recommended by the IAU for interference with research, while 25% distract from aesthetic appreciation of the night sky. The reflective characteristics are similar to Version 1 Starlink spacecraft."
#satellites #amazon #megaconstellations #skypollution #satellitepollution #lightpollution #space #astronomy
Space EnvironmentalismCSE's own @sundogplanets (University of Regina) has a new article with Gregory Radisic (Bond University) in @TheConversationUS in which they argue that the rapid expansion of #satellite #megaconstellations poses a catastrophic threat to Earth's orbit and the cultural heritage of the night sky and advocate for a Dark Skies Impact Assessment to regulate these impacts before they become irreversible.
Senate committee delays consideration of bill to streamline FCC satellite licensing
Susan VilleRE: https://mastodon.social/@netblocks/115995544730749317
🗨️ 👩🏽💻 Evil #iran, of course - and that's why the noble world now needs #starlink to give free rein to the real #US threat from lower orbit - that's what I call a clear political classification, and not a finding from #research that would actually offer the global population #protection from real catastrophes in crisis, right?
#civilprotection #civildefence #intranet
#backup for #life
#megaconstellations
#datacontrol
#tech #news
SpaceX files plans for million-satellite orbital data center constellation
"The sky is getting crowded. In the last few years, the number of #satellite launches has increased by an order of magnitude as #megaconstellations of internet-powering hardware crowd into low Earth orbit. The pace of both launching and retiring these units is creating new kinds of #pollution, potentially upsetting the #climate system and the protective #ozone layer."
