Beginning with Sputnik in 1957, however, humanity began contending with artificial points of light streaking through the sky: satellites. You can do things from space that you cannot do from Earth's surface. Originally, Starlink planned to launch shells of satellites at multiple altitudes, including ~1200 km above Earth's surface. Additionally, the first DarkSat test reduced the brightness of final-altitude satellites from magnitude +5 to +6, a minor victory. Unless and until we change the rules governing our shared heritage of the night sky, satellite mega-constellations will dramatically change how humanity interacts with the heavens above.

Source: Forbes May 29, 2020 06:00 UTC