Innovation enabled humanity to launch satellites to gather data, broadcast wireless internet to remote areas, and perform vital weather monitoring.
Ideally, innovation doesn’t entail high-tech littering or space junk, but as Fast Company reports, SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are plummeting to Earth at a frightening rate.
What’s happening?
According to Space.com, a total of 8,475 Starlink satellites were in orbit as of Sept. 25, with 8,460 of those satellites deemed functional.
Astronomer and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell tracks SpaceX’s Starlink satellites on his no-frills website, and he noticed an alarming trend — an uptick in the devices plummeting from low orbit to Earth indiscriminately.
McDowell told EarthSky that currently, between one and two Starlink satellites fall from the sky each day. The outlet contacted McDowell to inquire about an apparent surge in social media discussions about falling SpaceX satellites, and he responded with an alarming bar chart.
Fast Company stated that the falling satellites were “as much a design problem as anything,” and noted McDowell’s prediction that the rate of satellite reentry could soon reach five per day.
EarthSky noted that since over 70% of the Earth’s surface is water, many reentries occur in remote areas without witnesses, making the incidents shared on social media a small sample.
Satellite lifespans vary, but SpaceX’s satellites remain in service for around five years before they’re decommissioned in what’s meant to be a “controlled crash.”
As McDowell emphasized, though, reentry scenarios don’t always occur as intended.
Why are falling SpaceX satellites concerning?
As experts have indicated, the lifespan of SpaceX satellites is known; the fact that they fall from the sky is neither surprising nor concerning by itself.
|
How often do you feel hopeful about the future of the planet when you read news stories or watch entertainment content? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
In May, LiveScience estimated a worldwide total of 11,700 satellites orbiting the planet — double the number in orbit five years ago, and a figure perpetually on the rise.
Starlink satellites are “designed to completely burn up” upon reentry, McDowell told EarthSky, with a caveat.
“Now we’re not sure we really believe that they really burn up, but at least for the most part they melt,” he stipulated. With the majority of satellites deployed belonging to SpaceX, that also introduces the possibility of a catastrophic chain failure known as Kessler syndrome.
In that theoretical scenario, colliding satellites could cause “cascading debris fields,” resulting in a massive potential disruption to communications worldwide.
Moreover, satellites shed toxic metals and poorly understood emissions when working properly, and have other steep environmental costs. PIRG estimated that emissions from satellite rocket launches are akin to “7 million diesel dump trucks circling the globe each year.”
“We can’t keep using the ground and the atmosphere as a dumpster,” astronomer Samantha Lawler lamented.
What’s being done about space junk?
“I think lawyers will start to get involved if there’s damage to property or human life” caused by falling satellites, astrophysicist Avi Loeb told NewsNation.
In October 2024, a group of experts called upon the FCC, currently facing staffing shortages even before mass layoffs and furloughs, to pause Starlink satellite launches until the environmental impacts could be quantified.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
First Appeared on
Source link
