{"id":28656,"date":"2020-03-09T22:10:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T22:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:07:50","slug":"elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk dismissed concerns that his company\u2019s Starlink satellite constellation would hurt astronomers\u2019 ability to observe the night sky, a concern raised by some scientists when an initial batch of satellites appeared as a line of bright lights in the sky shortly after deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am confident that we will not cause any (interference) in astronomical discoveries. Zero. That\u2019s my prediction,\u201d said Musk at the Satellite 2020 conference March 9. \u201cWe\u2019ll take corrective action if it\u2019s above zero.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2019\/07\/17\/are-leo-satellites-approaching-a-breaking-point-for-the-pentagon\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/paul-selva.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Are LEO satellites approaching a breaking point for the Pentagon?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Space Development Agency could take advantage of commercial broadband constellations enabled by falling satellite costs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX\u2019s plan is for Starlink to provide internet access using hundreds of satellites operating in low earth orbit. The company has already launched more than 300 satellites into orbit, and they are scheduled to launch another batch of 60 March 14. One potential Starlink customer is the military, who has experimented with using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/c2-comms\/2020\/02\/24\/will-spacex-and-oneweb-help-the-military-stay-connected-in-the-arctic\/\" target=_blank>Starlink satellites to provide connectivity to military aircraft<\/a> and have expressed interest in using the constellation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/c2-comms\/2020\/02\/24\/will-spacex-and-oneweb-help-the-military-stay-connected-in-the-arctic\/\" target=_blank>to provide broadband to war fighters in the arctic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk said the reflection issues only really occur immediately after launch. The satellites blink when first deployed because they\u2019re tumbling and rising to orbit. Once in their final orbit, Musk said, those issues disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ll be impressed if someone can tell me where all of them are,\u201d said Musk. \u201cSo it can\u2019t be that big of a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, the company is working with the science community and astronomers to minimize any potential reflection. Musk said Starlink is running experiments with painting the phased array antenna black instead of white as well as introducing a sun shade to reduce reflectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk also denied reports that he was considering splitting Starlink off of SpaceX as a separate business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re thinking about that zero,\u201d said Musk, meaning not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk went on to seemingly suggest that revenue from Starlink would be necessary to fund SpaceX\u2019s broader mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe whole purpose of SpaceX is really to help make life multiplanetary, but the revenue potential of launching satellites, servicing the space station and whatnot, taps out around $3 billion a year,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think providing broadband is more like an order of magnitude more than that, probably $30 billion a year as a rough approximation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, the SpaceX founder says the company is focused on making Starlink work given how many companies have gone bankrupt trying to do the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The company is targeting a latency rate below 20 milliseconds, said Musk, allowing users to watch hi definition video, play video games and do anything they want to do online without noticing speed. The ground equipment for users will basically look like a UFO on a stick, he added, with just two simple instructions that can be followed in any order: \u201cPoint at sky. Plug in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Musk said Starlink won\u2019t run traditional telecommunications companies out of business\u2014in fact, he claimed it would benefit them because it will go after the customers that are hardest for those companies to reach. He saw Starlink reaching users in rural areas, effectively serving the 3-4 percent of customers who are hardest to reach for telecommunications companies. Likewise, Starlink will be less competitive in dense, urban spaces where 5G technologies can thrive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,163,36,23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3385],"class_list":["post-28656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-space-report","category-newsletters","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"Although the company is experimenting with reducing the satellites\u2019 reflectivity","legacy_arc_id":"TGIKB53GNNE2NARDN5D65OXJPU","arc_canonical_url":"\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-09T22:10:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T18:07:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Strout\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Strout\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-03-09T22:10:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:07:50+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 540,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Military Space Report\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Space\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-03-09T22:10:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:07:50+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/09\\\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Space\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"space\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink - Defense News","description":"The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink","og_description":"The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2020-03-09T22:10:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T18:07:50+00:00","author":"Nathan Strout","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Strout","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink","datePublished":"2020-03-09T22:10:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T18:07:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/"},"wordCount":540,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Military Space Report","Newsletters","Space"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/","name":"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-09T22:10:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T18:07:50+00:00","description":"The SpaceX founder predicted his massive satellite constellation would have zero impact on astronomical discoveries even though the company is experimenting with ways to reduce any reflection from the satellites.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2020\/03\/09\/elon-musk-dismisses-astronomers-concerns-over-starlink\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Space","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/","ad_zone":"space"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Elon Musk dismisses astronomers\u2019 concerns over Starlink"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/49051988851_0b422e1603_o.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28656"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81252,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28656\/revisions\/81252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28656"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=28656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}