Why A $1.77 Trillion SpaceX IPO Could ‘Permanently Scar’ The Night Sky

BreakingInnovationScienceWhy A $1.77 Trillion SpaceX IPO Could ‘Permanently Scar’ The Night SkyByJamie Carter,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky.Follow AuthorJun 13, 2026, 05:34am EDTToplineThe investment case for the SpaceX IPO potentially extends far beyond rockets. Although the company is best known for its Falcon 9 orbital and Starship experimental heavy-lift reusable rockets, its Starlink megaconstellation already numbers more than 10,000 satellites, while future plans could include orbital AI data centers and even space-based solar power systems. Yet if those ambitions are realized, they could trigger one of the biggest changes ever made to humanity’s view of the heavens — as well as to astronomy, navigation, migration, feeding and reproduction across hundreds of species, according to Dark Sky. The satellite-filled sky that is now a reality — and getting more crowded every week! (Photo by: Alan Dyer/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesKey FactsSpaceX currently operates more than 10,000 active Starlink satellites, roughly two-thirds of all working satellites in orbit. Amazon Leo, its competitor, has 300 satellites in orbit and plans to launch 3,200, according to Space.com.In January, SpaceX filed documents asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch one million satellites to create a megaconstellation of orbital data centers to meet the demand for AI computing power.Research has found that satellites and other orbiting objects could increase the overall brightness of the night sky by more than 10% above natural levels. That means each image taken by a billion-dollar professional telescope would lose 10% of data due to satellite trails, an issue identified by reports from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affair...