You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Maddie, I'm here with Science Correspondent Jeff Brumfield to talk about space.

So, something happened up there this week, huh?

Yep, that's right.

On Monday, Veteran State, the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX launched a rocket.

One, zero.

Ignition.

Lid off with gratitude for Veterans today and always go USA.

Patriotic and propulsive.

Indeed it is.

But here's the thing, rockets launch satellites usually.

But on board this rocket, there wasn't just one satellite or two.

There were 60.

Yeah, it's a lot of satellites.

And this is actually the second time SpaceX has launched 60 satellites this year alone.

Okay, that sounds cool, I think.

It's cool, yeah, but there's a problem.

There are literally hundreds more satellites heading into lower orbit in 2020.

And all that traffic, it's got scientists and space junk experts really worried.

So, today on the show, what the swarm of SpaceX satellites is for?

And why it has some people concerned about the future of astronomy.

Okay, Jeff, I get it.

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