Space industry aficionados have big plans. They talk about the not so distant future when hundreds of thousands or even millions of satellites orbit planet Earth, beaming the internet to the unconnected, processing data in orbital computer centers, generating solar power and more. But this ambitious vision, which many in the sector think will become reality sooner or later, worries atmospheric researchers.
Studies show that since the beginning of the mega-constellation era in 2020, concentrations of potentially dangerous high-altitude air pollution stemming from satellite launches and re-entries has significantly increased. Based on estimates described by researchers as "conservative", the global space sector will have released by 2030 more climate-altering chemicals into the atmosphere than the entire United Kingdom. If the growth envisioned by the space industry leaders comes to pass, this air pollution, mostly concentrated in higher layers of the atmosphere, will at some point begin altering Earth's climate, Eloise Marais, a professor of atmospheric chemistry and air quality at University College London, told Space.com.
