--- title: "Planetary Defense Experts Complain That SpaceX-Style Satellites Make It Harder to Spot Killer Asteroids" description: "Satellite constellations are clogging up Earth's lower orbit and making it harder to spot killer asteroids, scientists warn." date: "2022-08-31" modified: "2022-08-31" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/experts-satellites-killer-asteroids-survey" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "elon musk" - "near-earth objects" - "satellites" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" - "the digest" --- # Planetary Defense Experts Complain That SpaceX-Style Satellites Make It Harder to Spot Killer Asteroids ![Satellite constellations are clogging up Earth's lower orbit and making it harder to spot killer asteroids, scientists warn.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Near-Earth Objection Scientists are not at all pleased with the growing number of small satellites clogging up Earth's lower orbit, including SpaceX's rapidly growing Starlink array, which they say are making the job of [tracking killer asteroids]() way harder. Nearly three-quarters of experts identified as "planetary defense experts" by the Apollo Academic Surveys group responded that they are at least "moderately concerned about the proliferation of tens of thousands of commercial satellites," per [new findings published by the organization](). "I think it's absolutely terrible that nothing concrete is being done to combat this issue," astronomer Cristina Thomas of Northern Arizona University, [one of the survey's 34 responders](), wrote. "This is only going to get worse and make a lot of problems for ground-based discovery." ## 99 Problems Compiled in tandem with author and planetary scientist Carrie Nugent of the Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts, these results are pretty damning, if not entirely shocking. For years now, astronomers and others who fall under the umbrella of "[planetary defense]()" science — mostly asteroid researchers and trackers, as well as others who study near-earth objects (NEOs) of [the type that could leave our planet in ruins]() — have warned that satellite constellations [like those that power SpaceX's Starlink]() internet service could [pose a serious threat]() to their ability to track and handle asteroids from the ground. As scary as that prospect is, however, there is hope both on the ground and in the skies, the experts surveyed said. ## Satellite Solutions One possibility is that new software could filter out satellite interference. There's also the idea of launching asteroid-tracking telescopes way out beyond satellites like Starlink, such as NASA's NEO Surveyor telescope that the agency hopes to launch by 2028. "Space-based assets are the correct advancement of NEO discovery," an anonymous responder wrote. "Ground-based search assets are of diminishing importance." Solving a satellite problem with another satellite may seem somewhat counterintuitive, but given that [companies are pushing]() for tens of thousands of internet satellites to be deployed — and that [Elon Musk wants there to be *tens of billions*]() of such satellites in near-Earth orbit — it might be our only choice. **READ MORE:** [Asteroid hunters worry megaconstellations might interfere with planetary defense]() \[*Space.com*\] **More satellite scaries:** *[Incoming Solar Storm Season May Totally Screw Up Satellites, Government Scientist Warns]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()