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> The question is what happens when they launch all 1000 satellites? The plan is for 12,000 satellites and they are only designed to last a few years and then
by mrep 9y ago
> The question is what happens when they launch all 1000 satellites?
The plan is for 12,000 satellites and they are only designed to last a few years and then be replaced. This keeps launch rates constant, allows them to make much larger use of economies of scale by having that many satellites, and to constantly improve speed by building the new satellites with state of the art technology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink_(satellite_constellation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink_(satellite_constellat...
- zingmars 9y agoThat's a lot of satellites. What are they going to do with the deprecated ones?
- derekp7 9y agoProbably plan to make fireworks out of them. Without periodic boosts, LEO satellites fall anyway, but I believe all new satellites are launched with reserve fuel for a controlled reentry burn over uninhabited ocean.
- lostapathy 9y agoLEO orbits degrade fairly steadily - without constantly boosting them back up they will de-orbit on their own. Because of that, they won't leave space junk in orbit. From how they describe these satellites, they will be small enough to burn up in the atmosphere and not cause any issues on the ground either.