Page:SATCON2 Community Engagement Report.pdf/8

 6. “Science vs. Internet” is a false choice

Affordable broadband is crucial to almost all aspects of 21st century work and life, and some communities welcome satellite broadband. However, we must not assume that LEO satellite constellations are the only option, or that sacrificing the night sky is an acceptable trade-off. Industry and government agencies must develop a meaningful assessment of viable alternatives to satellite broadband, including ground-based fiber, from the aspects of cost, infrastructure and environmental impact. Satellite operator business models may not accurately assess the profitability of satellite constellation broadband Internet and its affordability for low-income users; in Mexico, Starlink currently charges roughly four times more than ground-based broadband, and one recent study found only a small overlap between global populations that need broadband and those that can afford to pay market rates for it. Costs of satellite constellations that are put on society — such as coping with space debris after satellite collisions or bankruptcies and environmental costs from launches, operations, and deorbiting — should be fully considered in the true cost of satellite constellations, rather than left as externalities.

7. Better international regulation and globally coordinated oversight/enforcement

We need coordinated international regulation of the satellite constellation industry with oversight and enforcement, in contrast to the current regulatory maze of siloed issues enabling business as usual. Most of the constituencies polled by the Community Engagement Working Group want industry to slow down until meaningful solutions can be developed in consensus, involving youth and communities. The fallout from unregulated unchecked satellite constellation launches includes dramatic predicted increases in all of the following: space debris, radio frequency interference, orbital traffic and collisions, environmental fallout in the upper atmosphere or oceans after satellite decommissioning, and global sky brightness (not just individual satellite streaks) washing out fainter stars or meteors, and undermining dedicated dark sky parks and preserves.

8. Slow or stop satellite constellation launches until problems are resolved

We strongly urge that the pace of launches be slowed or stopped until the issues can be much more fully understood and meaningful solutions to proven and likely problems can be developed in consensus. All the constituencies we polled and consulted are already noticing a dramatic rise in the number of satellites seen, when the number of satellites in orbit is currently only 5–10% of what is planned to be launched in the next decade. We need to plan for and mitigate both the known impacts of satellite constellations and a broad array of unintended consequences from them for many human endeavors.

9. Continued active engagement and conversation

The Community Engagement Working Group views the SATCON2 workshop as the beginning, rather than the end, of a long overdue conversation that was prompted by satellite constellations, but that extends Rh