A thorough review of the environmental risks, impacts, and costs of satellite-based data centers is needed, according to a petition filed by a coalition of environmental and scientific organizations, represented by Earthjustice, an environmental group.
The petition asks the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, to pause granting any licenses for these “orbital data centers” until it conducts an environmental review.
Several companies have asked for a license from the FCC to put massive numbers of data centers into space – the applicants are proposing more than a million satellites in low-earth orbit.
Putting a huge number of satellites in space risks changing the earth’s atmosphere, disrupting daily activities that rely on satellites currently operating, disturbing wildlife, and altering the night sky, Ruskin Hartley, executive director of DarkSky International, said in a statement.
“These projects could permanently alter the night sky as we know it,” Hartley said. “The FCC needs to take seriously its obligation to ensure these projects do not cause unnecessary harm to naturally dark skies, or to our overall environment.”
Jan Hasselman, senior attorney at Earthjustice, said drastically expanding satellites in space has a direct impact on people’s everyday lives as well as the future of the planet.
“Agencies that authorize companies looking to space as the next frontier still must operate within the law, and the law requires the FCC to consider all the risks and impacts of these proposals,” Hasselman said.
Tim Whitehouse, executive director for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an environmental group, said allowing a million orbiting data centers with no environmental review isn’t just irresponsible – it’s reckless.
“The potential for these projects to degrade the atmosphere with pollution and debris and harm wildlife needs to be carefully considered before licensing these projects,” Whitehouse said.
The number of satellites in space has grown rapidly in the last several years. In 2015, there were about 1,400 active satellites; as of 2026, there are 15,000 satellites, and that number is projected to grow to an additional 58,000 by 2030. SpaceX’s proposal alone seeks permission to launch up to a million space-based data centers.
In the past, the FCC has authorized satellites without any environmental review and has never considered cumulative impacts, Hasselman said. Satellites have known environmental impacts, including emissions from rocket launches and reentries, debris from potential collisions, degradation of the ozone layer, and light pollution that would disrupt and harm our wildlife and negatively affect humans.
