Astronomers Warn of 'Catastrophic' Impact from Proposed Million-Satellite Ring Around Earth
A proposal to launch over a million satellites into low Earth orbit has raised significant concerns among astronomers. Companies such as SpaceX, Starcloud, Cowboy Space, Orbital Compute, and Blue Origin have filed applications with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy these satellites, which are intended for data storage. Additionally, tens of thousands of orbital mirrors are planned to reflect sunlight to Earth after dark. This initiative could create a bright band around the planet, akin to Saturn's rings, visible from anywhere on Earth. Reflect Orbital, a California-based company, has already received FCC approval to launch its first demonstration mirror, Eärendil-1, by the end of the year. Astronomers fear that this could severely impact observational astronomy, as the satellites would form a single, tightly packed orbital path, outshining and outnumbering visible stars. 
