“As far as we know, no coordination or deconfliction with existing satellites operating in space was performed, resulting in a 200 meter close approach between one of the deployed satellites and STARLINK-6079 (56120) at 560 km altitude.”
“As far as we know, no coordination or deconfliction with existing satellites operating in space was performed, resulting in a 200 meter close approach between one of the deployed satellites and STARLINK-6079 (56120) at 560 km altitude.”
The low orbits that need to be constantly maintained or they naturally deorbit are the exact opposite of Kessler Syndrome. If every Starlink satellite was to disintegrate right now, the majority of the debris would be gone in 5 years.
… Unless they functionally constitute a massive, fast moving, kind of net, that anything trying to climb to a higher orbit has to pass through, and hope to not collide with, as showcased by this article we are commenting on.
Anything that’s trying to break through VLEO, well, if a collision happens on its way to LEO, or beyond, some of those debris will be headed to LEO or beyond.
After 5 years of aluminum dust coating every surface on the planet… I can’t imagine that would be good for us to breathe, and drink.
That’s a great point, and has almost nothing to do with Kessler Syndrome. But what can I say? I live near a city where the leaders of a few nations decided it would be fun to test the effects of fallout by releasing radioactive dust over it. Aluminum oxide is pretty benign, comparatively.
Certainly, the consequences of our actions need to be considered, but let’s stick to the legitimate ones, such as what you listed, and not the highly improbable ones such as Kessler Syndrome.