Huge numbers of artificial satellites orbiting Earth; many more set to be launched: Report

Over the years, the number of satellites launched into space has increased significantly to collect accurate and relevant data for various missions, including scientific research, weather forecasting, military support, Positioning, Navigation, Earth imaging, communications, climate and environmental monitoring. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), approximately 3,300 operational artificial satellites are currently orbiting the Earth. SpaceX's Starlink will control as many as 11,926 satellites in Gen 1 launches, whereas it will launch 30,000 additional satellites into orbit in Gen 2. 

In 2020, as many as 1,283 satellites were launched, the most number of satellite launches in a single year compared to all previous years. However, as of April 2021, about 850 satellites were launched, which is 66.25% more than 2020. The reliance of various industries on satellite data has caused the figures to rise year after year. The major objective of active satellites is to collect various types of data. While some are only used for a single operation, others are used for multiple operations, stated a report by the Geospatial World. 

Industries across the world set to launch huge numbers of satellites

Meanwhile, according to a report published by Space.com, industries worldwide are planning to launch massive numbers of satellites into space in the coming years to provide global high internet access. And this connectivity comes at the risk of the space's cleanliness, which might taint cosmic studies and pollute the sky, claimed the report. A group of researchers has also looked at the effects of these spacecraft and possible mitigation techniques. 

The researchers noted that an astronomer utilising the world's greatest telescopes to capture the lightest objects in the sky would be greatly hampered by the massive constellations. However, supporters of these mega-constellations of orbiting satellites say that the satellites' high altitudes will reduce their impact on astronomy, and only specific sorts of observation programmes will be affected. According to NASA, millions of pieces of junk travel in Low Earth orbit (LEO), including spacecraft, small particles of paint from spacecraft, portions of rockets and satellites that are either dead or lost, and objects that are the results of space explosions. It should be mentioned here that the top ten countries in the satellite industry are the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, the European Space Agency, Canada, Germany, and Luxembourg.

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