Astronomers Worldwide 'Troubled' By New 'Cell Phone Tower in Space' - CNET

A sprawling caller outer built to link straight with mobile phones connected the aboveground is among the apical 20 brightest objects successful the nighttime sky, according to astronomers who are calling it a menace to their enactment and humanity's presumption of the universe.

The offending orbital entity is AST SpaceMobile's Bluewalker 3, which was launched connected Sept. 10, but its 64-square-meter (693-square-foot) array of star panels and antennas was conscionable fully unfurled earlier this month.

The International Astronomical Union coordinated observations from astir the planet, which recovered that the outer is astir arsenic agleam arsenic stars specified arsenic Antares and Spica, the 15th and 16th brightest successful the nighttime sky, respectively. It isn't conscionable Bluewalker 3 that concerns astronomers, but alternatively the information it serves arsenic a trial exemplary for a constellation of implicit 100 alleged Bluebirds the institution aims to motorboat arsenic portion of its program to physique a web of satellites to supply 5G connectivity from space. 

"BlueWalker 3 is simply a large displacement successful the constellation outer contented and should springiness america each crushed to pause," Piero Benvenuti, manager of the IAU Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference, said successful a statement.

Astronomers person been much acrophobic astir the imaginable impacts from mega-constellations of thousands of satellites similar SpaceX's Starlink, but the IAU says AST SpaceMobile's plans rise caller issues due to the fact that of the beardown vigor waves they volition transmit that could interfere with astronomical observations. 

Philip Diamond, who directs the the Square Kilometer Array Observatory successful South Africa and Australia, worries that orbiting "cell towers" aren't taxable to the aforesaid "quiet zone" restrictions that support vigor astronomers from interference by terrestrial cellular networks. 

"Astronomers physique vigor telescopes arsenic acold distant arsenic imaginable from quality activity, looking for places connected the satellite wherever determination is constricted oregon nary compartment telephone coverage," Diamond said. "New satellites specified arsenic BlueWalker 3 person the imaginable to worsen this concern and compromise our quality to bash subject if not decently mitigated."

The IAU notes that it has already begun conversations with AST SpaceMobile astir imaginable mitigation measures. 

The institution did not instantly supply a effect oregon comment. 

AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan said in a connection earlier this period the extremity is to physique a constellation that volition destruct mobile dormant zones connected Earth.

"Every idiosyncratic should person the close to entree cellular broadband, careless of wherever they unrecorded oregon work. Our extremity is to adjacent the connectivity gaps that negatively interaction billions of lives astir the world."