<p>What caught SpaceX and the astronomy community off-guard wasn't that the satellites might affect astronomy, it was just how bright the Starlink satellites were.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;We all knew the satellites were coming, but we never imagined they were going to be so bright,&quot; James Lowenthal, an astronomer at Smith College, <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-astronomers-visibility-response.html" rel="noreferrer">Source</a></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-03T14:42:12.090Z
2020-07-03T14:42:12.090Z
Barry Jenakuns
<blockquote>
  <p>“No one thought of this,” she said. “We didn’t think of it. The astronomy community didn’t think of it.”</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What utter nonsense. SpaceX are either lying or they didn't bother to go looking for any other opinions.</p>

<p>Astrophotographers have been complaining about satellites messing up their photos for years. When Starlink was announced astronomers complained even louder.</p>

<p>Go to any popular astronomy forum and search for "starlink" and see for yourself <a href="https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/613535-ugh-there-are-about-to-be-a-lot-more-satellites-in-space/" rel="noreferrer">#1</a> <a href="https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/344200-fifty-thousand-telecom-satellites-will-make-astronomy-impossible/" rel="noreferrer">#2</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-09T20:50:01.087Z
2019-12-09T20:50:01.087Z
Aaron F
<p><a href="https://space.stackexchange.com/a/39864/12102">This answer</a> to <em>Can / should the Starlink satellites be blackened?</em> mentions Space News' <a href="https://spacenews.com/spacex-working-on-fix-for-starlink-satellites-so-they-dont-disrupt-astronomy/" rel="noreferrer">SpaceX working on fix for Starlink satellites so they don’t disrupt astronomy</a> where SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell is quoted as saying the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Shotwell admitted that nobody in the company anticipated the problem when the satellites were first designed.</p>
<p>“<strong>No one thought of this,” she said. “We didn’t think of it. The astronomy community didn’t think of it.</strong>”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> Did nobody in the Astronomy community think ahead of time that 12,000 new satellites in LEO might be a problem?</p>
<p>Did SpaceX sneak this in under the astronomical observer community's nose by starting &quot;small&quot; (<a href="https://space.stackexchange.com/q/19055/12102">SpaceX's 4,425 satellite constellation - what's the method to the madness?</a>) and then &quot;drifting&quot; up to 12,000 satellites without anybody realizing it? Or did the community actually have some good idea that this was likely going to be a problem?</p>
<hr />
<p>fyi it may not stop at 12,000:</p>
<p>Space News: <a href="https://spacenews.com/spacex-submits-paperwork-for-30000-more-starlink-satellites/" rel="noreferrer">SpaceX submits paperwork for <strong>30,000 more</strong> Starlink satellites</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>WASHINGTON — SpaceX has asked the International Telecommunication Union to arrange spectrum for <strong>30,000 additional Starlink satellites</strong>.</p>
<p>SpaceX, which is already planning the world’s largest low-Earth-orbit broadband constellation by far, filed paperwork in recent weeks <strong>for up to 30,000 additional Starlink satellites on top of the 12,000 already approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/9TXwL.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/9TXwL.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>SpaceX could one day operate 42,000 Starlink satellites if it builds and launches 30,000 in addition to the 12,000 for which it already has FCC approval. Credit: SpaceX</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-29T06:30:40.783Z
https://xkcd.com/2274/
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-14T03:57:24.160Z
https://phys.org/news/2020-03-eso-impact-satellite-constellations-astronomical.html
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-14T05:00:31.880Z
@KeithMcClary thanks! [the pdf is open access](https://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=doi&doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202037501). They don't yet treat the complex shape of satellites or that they contain large flat surfaces and can't be approximated with diffuse scattering. [What attitudes will Starlink satellites have in different orbits?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/40794/12102)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-14T05:24:44.170Z
@KeithMcClary I've just linked that article in [What causes this arc in the night sky where the background is brighter on one side than the other?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/19456/6031)
uhoh
<observational-astronomy><artificial-satellite>
Did nobody in the Astronomy community think 12,000 new satellites in LEO might be a problem?
uhoh
# Did nobody in the Astronomy community think 12,000 new satellites in LEO might be a problem?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-12-08)

[This answer](https://space.stackexchange.com/a/39864/12102) to *Can / should the Starlink satellites be blackened?* mentions Space News' [SpaceX working on fix for Starlink satellites so they don’t disrupt astronomy](https://spacenews.com/spacex-working-on-fix-for-starlink-satellites-so-they-dont-disrupt-astronomy/) where SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell is quoted as saying the following:

> Shotwell admitted that nobody in the company anticipated the problem when the satellites were first designed.
>
> “**No one thought of this,” she said. “We didn’t think of it. The astronomy community didn’t think of it.**”

**Question:** Did nobody in the Astronomy community think ahead of time that 12,000 new satellites in LEO might be a problem?

Did SpaceX sneak this in under the astronomical observer community's nose by starting "small" ([SpaceX's 4,425 satellite constellation - what's the method to the madness?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/19055/12102)) and then "drifting" up to 12,000 satellites without anybody realizing it? Or did the community actually have some good idea that this was likely going to be a problem?

---

fyi it may not stop at 12,000:

Space News: [SpaceX submits paperwork for **30,000 more** Starlink satellites](https://spacenews.com/spacex-submits-paperwork-for-30000-more-starlink-satellites/)

> WASHINGTON — SpaceX has asked the International Telecommunication Union to arrange spectrum for **30,000 additional Starlink satellites**.
>
> SpaceX, which is already planning the world’s largest low-Earth-orbit broadband constellation by far, filed paperwork in recent weeks **for up to 30,000 additional Starlink satellites on top of the 12,000 already approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.**

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/9TXwL.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/9TXwL.jpg)

> SpaceX could one day operate 42,000 Starlink satellites if it builds and launches 30,000 in addition to the 12,000 for which it already has FCC approval. Credit: SpaceX

**Tags:** observational-astronomy, artificial-satellite

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: https://xkcd.com/2274/  
> **username_1**: https://phys.org/news/2020-03-eso-impact-satellite-constellations-astronomical.html  
> **username_0**: @username_1 thanks! [the pdf is open access](https://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=doi&doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202037501). They don't yet treat the complex shape of satellites or that they contain large flat surfaces and can't be approximated with diffuse scattering. [What attitudes will Starlink satellites have in different orbits?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/40794/12102)  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I've just linked that article in [What causes this arc in the night sky where the background is brighter on one side than the other?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/19456/6031)  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-12-09. Score: 25 | Accepted answer

> “No one thought of this,” she said. “We didn’t think of it. The astronomy community didn’t think of it.”

What utter nonsense. SpaceX are either lying or they didn't bother to go looking for any other opinions.

Astrophotographers have been complaining about satellites messing up their photos for years. When Starlink was announced astronomers complained even louder.

Go to any popular astronomy forum and search for "starlink" and see for yourself [#1](https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/613535-ugh-there-are-about-to-be-a-lot-more-satellites-in-space/) [#2](https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/344200-fifty-thousand-telecom-satellites-will-make-astronomy-impossible/).


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### Answer by username_2 on 2020-07-03. Score: 7

What caught SpaceX and the astronomy community off-guard wasn't that the satellites might affect astronomy, it was just how bright the Starlink satellites were.

> "We all knew the satellites were coming, but we never imagined they were going to be so bright," James Lowenthal, an astronomer at Smith College, [Source](https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-astronomers-visibility-response.html)


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