The Trump Administration is doing everything in its power to limit or eliminate science-based oversight of industry activities and is using the threat of “pocket rescissions” to prevent harm to favored industries.
Recently, PEER sent FOIA requests to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation, and NASA inquiring about the status of a workshop planned on the impact of commercial space activities on the atmosphere. The environmental impact of the tens of thousands of satellite launches and reentries is not fully understood. Early indications are that they could be significant enough to alter stratospheric temperatures and ozone coverage.
A large portion of the impact comes from the discharge of metals, such as aluminum, lithium, and copper, into the atmosphere due to –
- Old satellites burning up on reentry into our atmosphere, with the projected five-year life of each satellite ensuring a heavy shower of metal particles steadily descending to Earth;
- Discharge of liquified natural gas fuel to power satellite launches, and chemical propellants and accelerants to reposition to avoid collisions; and
- Collisions, as armadas of satellites from different companies and countries reach orbit. As many as 150,000 near-collisions now occur each year, a number likely to multiply.
One study recently found that satellites reentering the Earth’s atmosphere could contribute enough alumina to the stratosphere to alter wind speeds and temperatures in the polar regions by 2040 and impact the climate in ways we don’t fully understand. Another recent study found that ongoing rocket launches could delay ozone recovery.
This is an environmental issue of growing importance. The 12,000 satellites in orbit today could grow as high as 60,000 or 100,000 by 2030. Three projects alone —SpaceX’s Starlink, China’s Guowang megaconstellation, and President Trump’s Golden Dome — will account for tens of thousands of new satellites launches in the coming years.
This poses a political challenge to the Trump administration. Rather than cancel scientific activities in their entirety that address these issues, Commerce Secretary Lutnick (NOAA is an agency within the Department of Commerce) is creating a self–imposed backlog on thousands of contracts set to expire later this year. Press reports and documents obtained from our FOIA to NOAA on the status of the workshop reveal Lutnick appears to be slow walking important research efforts toward their doom by requiring his approval on all contracts over $100,000.
How does this happen? NOAA’s Congressional funding is set to expire on September 30, 2025. If NOAA’s money isn’t spent by that time, it returns to the Treasury. The project or activity does not move forward.
Rather than cancelling the workshop outright, placing it alongside thousands of other activities allows the Secretary to effectively cancel research efforts that could draw negative attention to companies like SpaceX, or massive projects like Golden Dome.
Tim Whitehouse is the Executive Director at PEER.
