The inaugural issue of the @iau_cps newsletter is up on https://cps.iau.org/news/cps-newsletter-1/. Read all about what the Centre has been up to in recent months.
Readers can subscribe to the newsletter hers: https://cps.iau.org/resources/newsletter/
The Center for Space Environmentalism (CSE) has launched!
CSE is a group of scholars and experts who inform and advocate for issues pertaining to the protection of the increasingly crowded space environment. It is intended in part to counter the prevailing narrative about the 'inevitable' commercial development and exploitation of outer space. We welcome dialog and interaction with anyone interested in these topics.
I am proud to participate in this effort with my colleagues @salvabara, @planet4589, @sundogplanets and others.
Follow us on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@space_environmentalism
And visit our website: https://www.spaceenvironmentalism.org/
There are reports that the brightness of some of the Chinese #Qianfan satellites is varying on short timescales. (e.g., https://www.satobs.org/seesat/Mar-2025/0049.html)
This behavior suggests that these satellites (and possibly others) from the second Qianfan launch are currently tumbling in orbit.
Three pieces by @Nature today on dark and quiet skies.
A news feature looking at the state of solutions for satellite constellations:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00792-y
A related Editorial:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00788-8
And a Comment piece by two experts on the risk of space debris hitting the ground:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00797-7
In the next few months, from its perch atop a mountain in Chile, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will begin surveying the #cosmos with the largest camera ever built.
Every three nights, it will produce a map of the entire southern sky filled with #stars, #galaxies, #asteroids and @supernovae — and swarms of bright #satellites ruining some of the view.
Swarms of satellites are harming #astronomy.
Here’s how researchers are fighting back.
"Part of the greenhouse effect that warms the air near Earth’s surface also cools the upper parts of the atmosphere where space starts and #satellites zip around in low orbit.
The cooling reduces the drag on the millions of pieces of human-made debris and satellites." Less drag means it takes longer for #SpaceJunk to burn up in the atmosphere.
#ElonMusk’s #SpaceX Starship #Rocket Breaksup & Disrupts Florida #Airports
But sure yeah put this #SpecialK Presidential Adviser in charge of #AirTrafficControl for airplanes & sure, throw in space #satellites too.
Video showed the upper stage of the most powerful rocket ever built spinning out of control in #space, a repeat of an unsuccessful test flight in January that led to debris falling over the Caribbean.
#USpol #Trump #idiocracy #DrugAbuse
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/science/spacex-starship-launch.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=DF139D51-2C7B-4A6C-869B-58A7D2104A63
From now on, American #satellites will see #russian #bombers carrying #missiles taking off, bound for #Ukrainian hospitals, critical power and transport infrastructure, and they will intentionally choose to sit on their hands rather than warn #Ukraine that it’s coming.
Immediate impacts from the total #US shutdown of intelligence sharing to Ukraine will be wide-ranging, and Russian air strikes targeting civilian infrastructure will likely become more effective.
Almost 4 #StarLink satellites fall back to Earth every day and they rain out aluminum oxide into the stratosphere which destroys the ozone layer. These microsatellites are more and mire problematic with every article I read.
The layoffs also upend the agency's core function of #licensing commercial imagery #satellites. By Friday, companies seeking licenses or asking #regulatory questions by email were met with a response stating all those communications will be handled by #NOAA lawyers….
"This is a temporary arrangement to address continuity of operations as no senior personnel remain in the office due to ongoing reductions in force," the email read.
"These are like air traffic controllers for #space, they handle space traffic coordination to prevent collisions," one of the sources said, adding the #layoffs come at a bad time given the number of collision notices sent out. A collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide w/another object in space.
"We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands," the source said. "It's like a game of chicken up there."
#ElonMusk's government *efficiency* effort has led to thousands of #layoffs in the federal government, disrupting government operations across the country. #Musk, who leads #space company #SpaceX, has long criticized space #regulations for being too *slow & outdated* [requiring him to abide w/safety standards & laws].
#Layoffs hit federal #climate, #weather agency #NOAA
Why it matters: NOAA is responsible for providing weather watches, warnings, monitoring and studying #Earth's climate, and operating weather #satellites and protecting marine life
Zoom out: NOAA layoffs come amid thousands of layoffs at other climate-related agencies, including #EPA, #DOE, #USDA and Interior
What's next: Federal agencies, including NOAA, are expected to undergo significant further cuts in coming months
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/27/layoffs-hit-noaa-national-weather-service
Feel free to add.
"Things that will happen if Trump/Musk destroy #NOAA and the National Weather Service (#NWS)."
Planes won't fly.
Your weather app won't work or be accurate.
No #hurricane, tsunami, or #flood forecasts or warnings.
No #water information for farmers.
No data from earth observing #satellites
No #climate information
Higher insurance rates for disasters
"It looks like there's no stopping the march of modern internet satellites, and many more look to be blighting our skies/potentially improving worldwide internet access in the near future."
On the weekly #FUNcube call:
"I have managed to un-dog my CPLD."
If you'd listen to the call without any context, you'd think we're all mad.
If you'd listen to the call with context, you'd think we're all mad.
China is building space alliances in Africa to enhance its global surveillance network and advance its bid to become the world’s dominant space power. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02/14/world/politics/china-space-alliances-africa-trump-aid/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #space #china #egypt #africa #donaldtrump #elonmusk #space #satellites #rockets #xijinping
"'It's a very difficult problem to communicate to the general public. It's not like an oil spill, where the pelicans are dying. It's not visceral. There's debris you can show them through a telescope. But it's just a dot.'"
