• burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    I understand Kessler Syndrome and am not saying that it isn’t possible. I just think Starlink is the wrong constellation to be mad about. There are two points I’m trying to make here about Starlink:

    1. Their orbit is low, so it doesn’t matter as much if their birds die because they passively deorbit.
    2. SpaceX has been a good steward of their orbits and don’t have much dead junk up there.

    The low orbit point is also made in that Wikipedia page that you linked:

    Starlink satellites are launched at a lower altitude of 550 km … and failed satellites or debris are thus expected to deorbit within five years even without propulsion, due to atmospheric drag.

    I added the source to my comment above about the deorbit/junk stats.