Emissions Assessment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Broadband Megaconstellations; Starlink, OneWeb and Kuiper

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the environmental emissions of major LEO broadband satellite constellations, highlighting their benefits for rural connectivity and their significantly higher emissions compared to terrestrial broadband.

Contribution

It provides sustainability analytics for three leading LEO constellations, quantifying emissions and discussing policy trade-offs between broadband access and environmental impact.

Findings

LEO constellations improve rural broadband speeds

They are 6-8 times more emissions intensive than terrestrial 4G

Future satellite launches could significantly increase space sector emissions

Abstract

The growth of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite megaconstellations is rapidly increasing the number of rocket launches. While improving broadband Internet helps achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there are also significant environmental emissions produced from burning rocket fuels. We present sustainability analytics for phase 1 of the three main LEO constellations including Amazon Kuiper (3,236 satellites), Eutelsat Group's OneWeb (648 satellites), and SpaceX Starlink (4,425 satellites). We find that LEO megaconstellations provide substantially improved broadband speeds for rural and remote communities but are roughly 6-8 times more emissions intensive (250 kg CO2eq/subscriber/year) than comparative terrestrial 4G mobile broadband. Policy makers must carefully consider the trade-off between improving broadband Internet to further the SDGs while mitigating the growing space sector environmental footprint, particularly regarding phase 2 plans to launch an order-of-magnitude more satellites.