UK researchers developed a new satellite, Jovian-1, coated with one of the darkest materials ever created, Vantablack, which is scheduled to launch in 2026 in a pioneering effort to reduce light pollution from space.
With over 14,900 satellites currently orbiting Earth and projections estimating that number may exceed 100,000 within 50 years, astronomers face an escalating challenge. Massive private satellite networks like SpaceX’s Starlink, which alone accounts for more than 60% of all active satellites, are flooding low Earth orbit (LEO) with highly reflective surfaces that disrupt optical observations.
Shiny satellite exteriors reflect sunlight and create streaks across telescope imagery, “photobombing” deep space observations. Newer satellite models like China’s “Thousand Sails” are especially bright, exceeding recommended luminosity thresholds and drawing criticism from the global scientific community.
To address this issue, researchers from the Joint Universities Programme for In-Orbit Training, Education and Research (JUPITER), a collaboration between the Universities of Surrey, Portsmouth, and Southampton, are preparing to launch Jovian-1, a satellite with a side coated in Vantablack 310.
This advanced version of the original Vantablack material absorbs 99.965% of visible light using a surface made of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. Developed by Surrey NanoSystems, a University of Surrey spinoff, Vantablack 310 is engineered to withstand LEO’s harsh conditions, including extreme temperature swings and cosmic radiation.
“Our latest coating technology, Vantablack 310, offers super-black performance across a wide range of viewing angles, while remaining robust to the challenging LEO environment,” said Kieran Clifford, senior technologist at Surrey NanoSystems.
The goal is to test whether this ultra-black coating can make satellites “invisible” to ground-based telescopes, thereby preserving access to a pristine night sky.
Once in orbit, Jovian-1 will be monitored for how effectively its darkened hull suppresses reflected sunlight. The experiment will help determine whether hull-darkening is a viable strategy for future satellite designs to minimize light pollution.
This study is part of a larger effort to enforce sustainable practices in space, promoting what researchers describe as “equitable access to the night sky,” a concern especially relevant as space becomes increasingly commercialized.
Although Jovian-1 targets optical pollution, other growing concerns from megaconstellations remain unresolved. For instance, radio frequency interference is making radio astronomy increasingly difficult, possibly leading to an “inflection point” where ground-based radio observation becomes obsolete. Space junk from satellite collisions is escalating, with every crash potentially triggering more debris in a dangerous chain reaction. Atmospheric pollution is rising as defunct satellites re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up, releasing unquantified metal particles.
