[unethical_ban]

>I don't think that the go ahead to the project should be contingent on consensus from the scientific community.

Something that could have immense impact on astronomy, the interest of the population in the cosmos, and a permanent change to the night sky shouldn't have some consensus, at least morally?

>It should be contingent on approval from a regulatory body that is appointed/controlled in some democratic way and reflects the will of the population,

Do those exist, much less in the current US administration?

>and if the benefits to society outweigh the risks, then it should get the go ahead regardless of consensus by astronomers.

...unless there is a way to accomplish the same thing for 99% of the population that is better implemented or doesn't affect the sky.

[vikramkr]

I dont think that they should have veto power, or that there is an inherent moral responsibility. That doesnt mean that I think starlink is justified, there should have been more debate and to tour point I certainly dont believe that the current regulatory standards were sufficient. What I believe is that it is up to astronomers to make their case to the public (starlink had plenty of advance notice) about why it is important to stop starlink, and that if the public is not convinced, there is no obligation to have any sort of consensus, moral or otherwise, from astronomers before launching. They don't own the sky any more than SpaceX does. The same point you made for the value of space based internet applies to the astronomers as well - do they need ground based telescopes or would space based telescopes be equally capable without affecting the sky by shutting down attempts to increase internet access and provide better connectivity via satellite? Obviously, both sides want the night sky for their own use, and if there is no way that a constellation of satellites will not interfere with astronomy, then both groups need to make their case. And if society decided astronomy was more important than space internet, I would be equally unopposed to shutting down these sorts of projects without the consensus of the companies investing in them. We do absolutely need a better regulatory framework though.