A new satellite has become one of the 20 brightest stars in the sky - Ars Technica

Bright things —

"BlueWalker 3 is simply a large displacement successful the constellation outer issue."

Eric Berger - Dec 1, 2022 3:49 p.m. UTC

Enlarge / Observation of a BlueWalker 3 walk from Oukaimeden Observatory connected Nov. 16 2022. The agleam prima little near is Zeta Puppis.

CLEOsat/Oukaimeden Observatory/IAU CPS/A.E. Kaeouach

Last month, a Texas-based institution announced that it had successfully deployed the largest-ever commercialized communications outer successful low-Earth orbit.

This BlueWalker 3 objection outer measures astir 65 quadrate meters, oregon astir one-third the size of a tennis court. Designed and developed by AST SpaceMobile, the expansive BlueWalker 3 outer is intended to show the quality of modular mobile phones to straight link to the Internet via satellite. Large satellites are indispensable to link to mobile devices without a ground-based antenna.

In this emerging tract of direct-to-mobile connectivity, which seeks to supply Internet work beyond the scope of terrestrial cellular towers, AST is competing with Lync, different institution that besides has launched objection satellites. In addition, larger players specified arsenic Apple and a squad astatine SpaceX and T-Mobile person announced their intent to supply nonstop connectivity services.

So portion determination are galore much specified satellites coming, AST stands retired astatine this clip due to the fact that it's the archetypal to motorboat an exceptionally ample satellite, and it plans to commencement launching operational "BlueBird" satellites in precocious 2023.

IAU concerns

Since BlueWalker3's motorboat successful September, astronomers person been tracking the satellite, and their alarm was heightened pursuing its antenna deployment past month. According to the International Astronomical Union, post-deployment measurements showed that BlueWalker 3 had an evident ocular magnitude of astir 1 astatine its brightest, which is astir arsenic agleam arsenic Antares and Spica, the 15th and 16th brightest stars successful the nighttime sky.

For a fewer years, astronomers person been expressing concerns astir megaconstellations, specified arsenic SpaceX's Starlink satellites. While these are much numerous—there are much than 3,000 Starlink satellites successful orbit—they are overmuch smaller and acold little agleam than the kinds of satellites AST plans to launch. Eventually, AST plans to motorboat a constellation of 168 ample satellites to supply "substantial" planetary coverage, a institution spokesperson said.

Even 1 is capable for astronomers, however. “BlueWalker 3 is simply a large displacement successful the constellation outer contented and should springiness america each crushed to pause,” said Piero Benvenuti, a manager astatine the International Astronomical Union.

The enactment of astronomers is besides acrophobic astir the imaginable for vigor interference from these "cell telephone towers successful space." They volition transmit beardown vigor waves astatine frequencies presently reserved for terrestrial compartment telephone communications but are not taxable to the aforesaid vigor quiescent portion restrictions that ground-based cellular networks are. This could severely interaction vigor astronomy research—which was utilized to observe cosmic microwave inheritance radiation, for example—as good arsenic enactment successful related fields.

Astronomers presently physique their vigor astronomy observatories successful distant areas, acold from compartment operation interference. They are disquieted that these large, radio-wave transmitting satellites volition interfere successful unpopulated areas.

AST responds

An AST spokesperson provided a connection to Ars that said the interaction of its satellites indispensable beryllium weighed against the "universal good" of cellular broadband for radical connected Earth. However, the institution besides said it is consenting to enactment with astronomers to code their concerns.

"We are anxious to usage the newest technologies and strategies to mitigate imaginable impacts to astronomy," the AST connection said. "We are actively moving with manufacture experts connected the latest innovations, including next-generation anti-reflective materials. We are besides engaged with NASA and definite moving groups wrong the astronomy assemblage to enactment successful precocious manufacture solutions, including imaginable operational interventions."

To that end, AST said it is committed to avoiding broadcasts wrong oregon adjacent to the National Radio Quiet Zone successful the United States, which is simply a ample country of onshore that includes portions of West Virginia and Virginia, arsenic good arsenic further radioastronomy locations.

A US-based astronomer who focuses connected airy pollution, John Barentine, told Ars helium welcomed the company's efforts to code vigor interference. He besides appreciates immoderate efforts to mitigate effects connected optical astronomy. However, Barentine warned, determination is nary recourse for astronomers but to instrumentality AST and different companies astatine look worth owed to a deficiency of regulatory oversight.

"Overtures by commercialized abstraction operators who perpetrate that their activities successful abstraction volition not adversely impact astronomy are made successful the lack of immoderate meaningful regulatory oversight that mandates mitigations," helium said. "AST SpaceMobile’s stated intentions are laudable, but for now, they’re conscionable words. So I reserve judgement pending immoderate actions the institution takes."