The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has warned that the Department of Defense’s (DOD) extremely expensive satellite laser communications technology program remains untested and should not proceed until it is proven to work. GAO reports: “Despite these challenges, DOD plans to continue to develop and launch hundreds of satellites worth billions of dollars that require the use of laser communications. We recommended that DOD fully demonstrate the technology's capabilities before investing further, among other things.”

Full article: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-106838 

In a newly published study titled "Sustainability as a core principle of space and planetary exploration," researchers from the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Center for Astrophysics and Space Science argue for spaceborne protections from biological contamination in addition to increasing protections against orbital debris, congestion, and operational security. 

These conclusions generally support long-standing positions advocated by The Balance Group.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964624000274?via%3Dihub

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Park Service (NPS), Coast Guard (USCG), and Department of the Air Force (DAF) jointly issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of issuing a commercial launch Vehicle Operator License to SpaceX for the Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle and associated operations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. 

Interested agencies, organizations, Native American Tribes, and members of the public are invited to submit comments on the significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS (e.g., range of actions, alternatives, environmental impacts).
Comments are due on or before June 24, 2024.

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-10149.pd

From the BBC article: "France halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation levels"
"France has ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12 for emitting too much electromagnetic radiation. On Tuesday, the French watchdog which governs radio frequencies also told the tech giant to fix existing phones. The ANFR has advised Apple that if it cannot resolve the issue via a software update, it must recall every iPhone 12 ever sold in the country. But the World Health Organization has previously sought to allay fears about radiation emitted by mobile phones."

Also read about the story in this Washington Post article.

     Astronomers and many others remain deeply concerned about the instability of satellite mega-constellations, and the interference they cause to ground based science.   
     “Tzu-Wei Fang, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who specializes in predicting space weather, began collaborating with SpaceX after a disastrous launch in February 2022. SpaceX watched as 38 of its 49 newly deployed Starlink satellites burst into flames.   Dr. Fang’s post-mortem documented how a minor geomagnetic storm had raised the density of the air at the altitudes where low-Earth orbits take place. So instead of sailing into orbit, the Starlink satellites smacked into dense, hot air and broke apart.”   

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/science/astronomy-starlink-spacex-kuiper-amazon.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

GAO Report Agrees With Longstanding BALANCE GROUP Positions

Today the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) Published: Satellite Licensing: FCC Should Reexamine Its Environmental Review Process for Large Constellations of Satellites.  

The BALANCE GROUP congratulates the GAO and FCC on agreeing with the need for large satellite constellation licensing, deployment and operational decisions to be much more thoroughly examined, reviewed and monitored for environmental safety.  The report stated:

​"GAO is recommending that FCC (1) review and document whether licensing large constellations of satellites normally does not have significant effects on the environment, (2) establish a timeframe and process for a periodic review of its categorical exclusion under NEPA, and publish both on its website, and (3) identify and make public factors FCC considers when determining if an extraordinary circumstance is present. FCC agreed with our recommendations."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) previously authorized SpaceX to deploy a network larger than all the satellites ever launched in the history of humankind.
 
Today’s report should lead to a much more balanced and scholarly real-world understanding concerning environmental impacts related to large satellite constellations.
​
The BALANCE GROUP has long sought that federal agencies with expertise in human health, environmental safety, and national defense matters be much more closely consulted prior to the FCC deciding to license satellite mega constellations. See:  attachment_1_balance_group_opposition_and_motions_to_spacex_application_for_major_modification_v_final_may_27_2020__1_.pdf (thebalancegroup.net)
 
It is important to note that on February 9, 2022, the world awoke to front page news that over 40 newly launched SpaceX satellites had been knocked out of orbit due to a predictable and routine solar flare.  The SpaceX low earth orbit satellite mega-constellation network had only started deploying.  Yet at least over 10% of what had just been deployed was tumbling out of orbit.[1] 
 
The BALANCE GROUP exists to provide a balanced approach to solving large, systemic issues concerning existing and proposed man-made systems and their impact on the human condition and the environment at large.  Technology and large-scale networks provide certain benefits that we all rely upon, yet the same existing or proposed networks and systems can degrade the human condition and surrounding environment.  The BALANCE GROUP will continue to provide a forum for its members and the public-at-large to conduct balanced research and advocacy for respecting the need for technology while also improving the human and environmental condition.


[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/science/spacex-satellites-storm.html


​See:  https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105005.pdf

The Merits Remain Unaddressed
BALANCE GROUP:  STATEMENT ON SAFETY 

D.C. Circuit Decision (Released August 26, 2022):
 
The BALANCE GROUP sought a court review, and is grateful that the Court brought its focus to this unprecedented global network, especially as the Commission undergoes the process to assess safety against potential future catastrophic failures and the resulting impact to safe operations and global and space environments. We are disappointed that the Court decided to not address The BALANCE GROUP’s challenges to the Commission’s decision to authorize changes to the SpaceX system without assessing the potential environmental harms. 
 
The Commission’s chosen path of turning a blind eye to these issues is not the path for understanding in a balanced manner how to ensure safe and sustainable space operations nor how to secure basic environmental protections. Once fully deployed, an entirely predictable, large-scale failure may cause inestimable damage to our economy, security and environment, and it is not clear that SpaceX is fully insured or otherwise prepared to pay for those damages.
 
It is also puzzling that astronomers, many of whom are BALANCE GROUP members who stated clearly in the record that their systems are being blinded by the nascent SpaceX network, did not get their concerns heard on the merits. Many of these astronomers track for meteors that may hit the earth. Other equally concerned parties who are impacted by SpaceX also did not have their concerns heard on the merits.
 
The BALANCE GROUP exists to provide a balanced approach to solving large, systemic issues concerning existing and proposed man-made systems and their impact on the human condition and the environment at large.  Technology and large-scale networks provide certain benefits that we all rely upon, yet the same existing or proposed networks and systems can degrade the human condition and surrounding environment.  The BALANCE GROUP will continue to provide a forum for its members and the public-at-large to conduct balanced research and advocacy for respecting the need for technology while also improving the human and environmental condition.
 
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/science/spacex-satellites-storm.html


Click on the file below to download The Balance Group's official Statement on Safety in PDF format, published on August, 26 2022 in response to the Court's decision.

Attached please find the Public Comments of THE BALANCE GROUP to the May 12, 2022, Quarterly Business Meeting.

These comments concern Human Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation exposure and recent directly related federal court and administrative agency proceedings.

​Overall, the comments provide a brief summary of core issues related to electromagnetic radiofrequency radiation (RF) exposure for placement into the National Council on Disability’s (NCD) record. It is recommended that NCD (i) review these materials and then (ii) schedule a hearing and open the record for comments regarding the establishment of an action plan for protecting people with disabilities who are impacted or may be subject to harmful impact.

Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/science/spacex-satellites-storm.html 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacex’s newest fleet of satellites is tumbling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm. Up to 40 of the 49 small satellites launched last week have either reentered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so, the company said in an online update Tuesday night. SpaceX said a geomagnetic storm last Friday made the atmosphere denser, which increased the drag on the Starlink satellites...


Article link: www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/spacex-satellites-falling-out-of-orbit-after-solar-storm/ar-AATEBbH?ocid=msedgntpp 

The main filing and its three (3) attachments are here.

Article link: ​https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/business/att-verizon-5g-airlines.html 

Article link: www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-verizon-refuse-faa-request-to-delay-5g-launch-11641146719?mod=djemalertNEWS

Summary (see the attached file for the full petition)

Petitioner AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE TECHNOLOGY (ART), a not-for-profit coalition of more than 150 allied organizations and other petitioners Environmental Health Trust, Consumers for Safe Cell Phones, California Brain Tumor Association, Tahoe Stewards, Manhattan Neighbors for Safer Telecommunications, Sally Jewell Coxe and Robert Strayton hereby respectfully request that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), within 30 days, issue a Declaration with enabling regulations, that an Imminent Hazard to public health currently exists, and to promptly ensure that this Declaration is communicated affirmatively to all public and private entities that are affected by the Imminent Hazard. We submit this Petition in the form required by 21 CFR Section 10.30 pursuant to 21 U.S. 360kk, and Sec. 21 CFR 2.5, for the following reasons:

1. The FDA has not clarified its present official safety policy relating to non-medical devices emitting radiofrequency (RF) radiation.

2. There is widespread public belief and reliance by federal agencies and state governments, physicians, health care providers, fire departments and other critical services, and businesses of all kinds that such FDA health-based standards exist, and that all wireless devices on the market are compliant with those protective standards, when there is no evidence that such a policy has actually been adopted following well established procedures and regulations under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).

3. Public exposure to non-ionizing RF radiation is growing at an exponential rate, causing a significant percentage of the American public, including our most vulnerable citizens— children, elderly and disabled persons, persons with implanted medical devices and pregnant women—to be regularly and continuously exposed to RF emissions. Meanwhile, scientific studies are documenting biological harm at levels far below the current 25-year-old Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exposure guidelines that only protect from the heating of human tissue.

4. Petitioners and millions like them are being seriously harmed, and left with no recourse or means of escape, unless and until the HHS and FDA immediately address and rectify the present climate of regulatory chaos. (See Declarations in Appendices 2 and 3.)

In sum, Petitioners respectfully request that the HHS Secretary: (i) declare an Imminent Hazard pursuant to CFR 21 Part 2 Sec. 2.5 (Imminent Hazard to the Public Health) within 30 days, and (ii) communicate affirmatively to all private and public entities affected by the Imminent Hazard the present uncertainty relating to whether the FDA’s official policy and regulations concerning RF radiation emitted from non-medical devices are APA-compliant.

Link: ​https://tinyurl.com/v63vafz9