Join a July 21 Forum on Satellite Threats to the Night Sky with Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director of DarkSky International

Ruskin Hartley is the CEO and Executive Director of DarkSky International, a global nonprofit dedicated to protecting the night time environment from light pollution and to safeguarding our cosmic heritage from the rapid commercialization of space. 

Ruskin will discuss DarkSky’s concerns regarding the overpopulation of space with commercial satellites during a July 21, 2026 forum. Dark Sky has been raising the alarm about two current applications to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission — first, an application from SpaceX to launch up to 1 million satellites as orbital data centers for Artificial intelligence — and second, Reflect Orbital’s application to deploy tens of thousands of mirrors in space to beam concentrated sunlight back to Earth during the night, creating “sunlight on demand.” 

These systems would introduce significant ecological, human health, safety and astronomical risks on a global scale. DarkSky, together with other advocacy groups, is calling for SpaceX and Reflect Orbital to undergo “comprehensive independent environmental impact assessments” conducted by qualified experts. The FCC is not requiring such review.

The forum will take place through a virtual meeting on Tues July 21 at 6pm ET. It is sponsored by the Third Act Actions Lab and hosted by DarkSky DC Board Member Julia Stevenson.

Please register for the forum here: https://thirdact-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/Dr9zzhbESoic6VvJpREymA#/registration

For more information, contact Julia Stevenson at jks.ei@verizon.net and see DarkSky International’s statements on satellites here: https://darksky.org/?s=satellite&post_type=post%2Cpage