The New Gold Rush: The Riches of Space Beckon!
by Joseph N. Pelton · 5 Nov 2016 · 321pp · 89,109 words
Open Space: From Earth to Eternity--the Global Race to Explore and Conquer the Cosmos
by David Ariosto · 24 Mar 2026 · 433pp · 116,344 words
were estimated at around 17 metric tons, which had caused “a 29.5% increase of aluminum in the atmosphere above the natural level,” finding that “mega-constellations point to over 360 metric tons of aluminum oxide compounds per year.” Satellite constellations, meanwhile, were expected to grow by orders of magnitude, backed by
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had plans for as many as forty-two thousand satellites, while Amazon’s Project Kuiper had launched thousands of its own satellites for a broadband mega-constellation that it hoped would rival Starlink. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “prevent the Starlink constellation”: Stephen Chen, “China Aims to Launch Nearly 13,000
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IN TEXT Releases of aluminum oxide nanoparticles: José P. Ferreira et al., “Potential Ozone Depletion from Satellite Demise During Atmospheric Reentry in the Era of Mega-Constellations,” Geophysical Research Letters 51, no. 11 (2024). GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT So its depletion can increase: European Commission, FAQ: Climate Action. GO TO
A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds
by Scott Weidensaul · 29 Mar 2021 · 415pp · 136,343 words
the sky. Astronomers went ballistic when the first of these small, brilliant objects were lofted into low-earth orbit in 2019, concerned that the eventual “mega-constellation” (as it’s been described) would interfere with their ability to study the stars, and alter the character of the natural sky to everyone, everywhere
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would “take all practical steps” to protect astronomy. But no one, so far as Farnsworth and I could tell, stopped to wonder what effect a “mega-constellation” would have on billions of migratory birds, already trying—with ever-diminishing success—to find their way through a night sky bleached of its darkness