Too many satellites? Earth's orbit is on track for a catastrophe—but we can stop it

On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of up to 1 million satellites to power data centers in space. The proposal envisions satellites operating between 500 and 2,000 kilometers in low Earth orbit. Some of the orbits are designed for near-constant exposure to sunlight. The public can currently submit comments on this proposal. SpaceX's filing is just the latest among exponentially growing satellite megaconstellation proposals. Such satellites operate with a single purpose and have short replacement life cycles of about five years. More

(Source: Phys.org - Feb 20)