During this process, I learned that satellite companies are so powerful and litigious that even giant publishers like Nature are terrified of getting sued. Which is…rather worrying.
The summary: astronomers spent a lot of time asking SpaceX and other large satellite operators to pretty please make their satellites fainter and/or use fewer satellites. And then BlueWalker 3 was launched by some tiny company and is one of the brightest things in the sky. Asking nicely isn’t working: international regulation and pollution penalties are needed.
Free author link here! Bright satellites are disrupting astronomy research worldwide | Nature
Musk thinks he owns the sky.
