Elon Musk wants to build SpaceX ‘orbital observatories’ HIGHER than Starlink so satellites don’t ruin astronomy
ELON Musk’s Starlink satellites have faced criticism recently for disrupting the view of the night sky. The billionaire SpaceX CEO is now proposing orbital observatories that could help astronomers continue their work uninterrupted. According to CNET, Musk suggested the idea to a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He reportedly proposed […]
ELON Musk’s Starlink satellites have faced criticism recently for disrupting the view of the night sky.
The billionaire SpaceX CEO is now proposing orbital observatories that could help astronomers continue their work uninterrupted.
According to CNET, Musk suggested the idea to a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
He reportedly proposed that research agencies could partner up with SpaceX to put orbital observatories higher than the Starlink satellites currently in Earth’s orbit.
This would mean that these observatories would then have an unobstructed view of the cosmos.
However, this still won’t do much for stargazers wanting to view the night sky with a telescope on Earth.
Musk said: “I’m very excited about a future of space-based telescopes that could be very large.”
He has other plans to minimise Starlink’s interference on stargazing and scientific research.
This includes adding sunshades to his satellites to make them appear dimmer and less reflective.
Musk assured the committee: “We will take further steps as needed.”
He added that the fix was “quite simple” and “we’ll feel a bit silly in hindsight.”
Starlink is a project that intends to put over 12,000 satellites into the Earth’s orbit so they can provide cheap WiFi to the entire world.
Billionaire Musk has also asked for permission to put another 30,000 up there.
Currently, the plan is reportedly to provide partial coverage to the US and Canada this year.
Then global coverage may become available in 2021.
The first 60 Starlink satellites were put into orbit in May 2019 and received criticism for being spotted in the night sky looking very bright and visible.
Many people have since spotted the satellites in the night sky and were shocked by how bright there are.
When spotted flying above the Netherlands last year, a Dutch UFO website was inundated with more than 150 reports from people thinking that they were looking at UFOs.
It’s thought that the satellites looked particularly bright because they had not reached their intended orbit.
According to space experts, last weeks high rate of sightings was due to the satellites being in low orbit after the recent launch last Wednesday.
SpaceX launches Starlink satellites in batches of 60 before they gradually rise to a higher orbit and become less visible.
The satellites are intended to be staggered at different heights above the Earth including altitudes of 340 miles and 710 miles.
Musk isn’t the only tech billionaire looking to colonise space with satellites.
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos also has similar ideas.
Musk has previously said he plans to send up nearly 12,000 satellites by the mid-2020s.
If everything goes to plan for SpaceX then internet users across the world could have 40 times faster internet speeds no matter where they live.
How much this service will cost has not yet been revealed but Musk intends to keep prices low.
Is Starlink ‘blocking’ the night sky?
The Starlink programme is controversial among astronomers, who have slammed Musk’s hare-brained scheme.
They say Starlink gets in the way of observations due to light reflected off the the satellites.
University of Western Ontario meteor researcher Denis Vida stated in a blog post last year: “One has to be concerned how will our skies look like when hearing that there are plans to launch a total of 42,000 satellites.
“This might completely deny us to do any optical meteor observations as soon as 2024.”
Never one to take something lying down, Musk previously lashed back at his critics, claiming the satellites have no such impact.
Speaking at a conference in Washington DC last month, he said: “I am confident that we will not cause any impact whatsoever in astronomical discoveries. Zero. That’s my prediction.
“We’ll take corrective action if it’s above zero.”
What is Starlink?
Here's what you need to know about Elon Musk's satellites...
- Starlink is a satellite project led by billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk
- Musk intends to put 12,000 satellites into Earth’s orbit, possibly rising to 42,000 in future
- The ‘mega-constellation’ will eventually be able to beam internet coverage to anywhere on the planet
- SpaceX also intends to sell satellites for military, scientific and exploratory purposes
- The firm sends its satellites up in batches of 60 at a time and has so far deployed more than 360 into orbit.
- The satellites are launched atop unmanned Falcon 9 rockets, which are also built by SpaceX
- How the space tech will affect the night sky is causing concern as they look bright in the night sky
- Astronomers and amateur stargazers have repeatedly blasted the firm for ruining their observations
- SpaceX argues that its satellites are only bright shortly after launch because they sit in a low orbit
- Over several weeks, the satellites apparently move further from Earth, dampening their effect on space observations
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In other news, SpaceX could beam ‘ultra-fast internet’ to USA this year.
Nasa astronauts will launch into space from US soil next month for the first time in nearly a decade.
And, Brits took snaps of Starlink satellites passing over the UK last week.
What are your thoughts on Starlink? Let us know in the comments…
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