NASA Study Warns Satellite ‘Swarms’ Could Contaminate 1 in 3 Hubble Images

Satellite Constellations Threaten Space Telescopes, New NASA Study Finds

As commercial satellite deployments accelerate, astronomers are raising alarms about growing interference with both ground- and space-based observatories. A new study led by Spanish astrophysicist Alejandro Serrano Borlaff at NASA — reported by El País — models the projected satellite constellations planned over the next decade and warns that the resulting light pollution could severely affect flagship space telescopes.

Key findings: The researchers estimate that if current industry plans proceed, roughly one in three images from the Hubble Space Telescope could be contaminated by visible streaks from satellites. The threat extends to future observatories: the team projects bright streaks in about 96% of images from the European Space Agency’s ARRAKIHS (targeting a launch window in the 2030s) and up to 99% contamination for NASA’s recently launched SPHEREx mission.

SpaceX currently holds Federal Communications Commission approval to deploy 12,000 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit and has proposed an additional 30,000. The study’s authors caution that other companies and national programs could add as many as 500,000 more satellites worldwide over the next decade, dramatically increasing the probability of imaging contamination and radio interference.

“This is the first scientific study whose main objective is to investigate the effects of light pollution on space telescopes, taking into account these plans announced by the industry,” Borlaff told El País, noting the work explicitly models planned deployments and evaluates their impact on imaging quality.

The implications reach beyond ruined images: persistent contamination can degrade long-exposure observations, complicate data analysis, and reduce the scientific return of costly missions. Mitigation options exist — including reducing satellite reflectivity, better orbital planning, operational changes to observatories, and coordinated frequency management — but the authors emphasize that meaningful protection will require rapid, coordinated international regulation and industry cooperation.

With limited time to act, the study adds urgency to debates about how to balance commercial satellite growth with the preservation of astronomical science and the night sky. Without policy changes and technical mitigations, space-based astronomy may face significant new constraints in the coming decade.