Elon Musk and his company SpaceX are currently constructing a satellite constellation to provide satellite internet access named ‘Starlink’. The constellation will be comprised of thousands of small satellites that work in combination with ground transceivers.

To meet the booming, rapidly evolving broadband demand from around the world, SpaceX is planning to change the terrestrial fiber and cable platforms with mobile broadband networks and space-based systems like Starlink. In the US, more than 39% of Americans living in rural areas are lacking access to advanced telecommunications capabilities, and around 57% of the world’s population are offline for a wide range of reasons. This project is looking to provide more and more people the tools to compete in the 21st century economy.

This news has come with different responses from the scientific community. While most agree that global internet service is a worthy initiative, some astronomers worry that the orbiting link will affect the view of the galaxy and even threaten stargazing as a whole. Besides the satellites being too bright as they reflect sunlight back to earth, they could now triple the number of satellites currently in orbit, with the number growing larger if other companies like Amazon or Telesat get to space.

Scientists agree that the risks of having too many satellites in the sky is too big for one company to be making all the decisions around it. What’s your scientific take on it??